tibvavy  of  Che  ^theological  Seminary 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


PURCHASED  BY  THE 
HAMILL  MISSIONARY  FUND 


DS  895  .F7  M2 
Mackay,  George  Leslie 
From  far  Formosa 


OF  PR'/V 


C  4*\6M^0 


FROM   FAR  FORMOSA 


FROM   FAR   FORMOSA 


Ube  Asians,  its  people  an&  Missions 


BY 

GEORGE   LESLIE  MACKAY,  D.D, 

TWENTY-THREE  YEARS  A  MISSIONARY  IN  FORMOSA 

EDITED  BY  THE 

REV.  J.  A.  MACDONALD 

WITH  PORTRAITS,  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  MAPS 


FLEMING    H.  REVELL   COMPANY 

New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

1896 


Copyright,  1895, 

by 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 

Entered  at  Stationer's  Hall.     All  Rights  reserved. 


THE   CAXTON   PRC89 


EDITORIAL  PREFACE 


1_70RMOSA,  at  one  time  far  off,  has  been  brought  near  to 
the  Western  world.  All  eyes  were  turned  upon  it  when 
it  became  the  storm-center  of  the  China-Japan  War.  But  there 
were  those  who  had  been  looking  across  the  seas  to  the  Beau- 
tiful Isle  for  more  than  twenty  years  before  the  war-cloud 
darkened  the  sky.  They  were  interested  in  its  fortunes  because 
of  one  who  had  given  himself,  with  Pauline  faith  and  self- 
renunciation,  that  it  might  be  redeemed  from  error  and  sin. 
George  Leslie  MacKay  has  long  been  the  missionary  hero  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada. 

During  his  second  furlough,  which  closed  when  he  sailed 
from  Vancouver  on  October  16,  1895,  Dr.  MacKay  was  elected 
moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of  his  church,  and  visited 
many  points  throughout  the  Dominion,  in  the  United  States, 
and  in  Scotland,  addressing  congregations  and  conventions. 
Everywhere  and  on  all  occasions  the  impression  made  was  that 
of  a  great  man  and  a  hero.  The  demand  for  a  fuller  record 
of  his  life  and  work  became  increasingly  urgent.  Friends  who 
knew  that  his  information  about  Formosa  was  more  extensive 
and  more  reliable  than  that  of  any  other  living  man,  and  who 
believed  that  an  account  of  his  experiences  and  work  would 
stimulate  the  faith  and  zeal  of  the  church,  but  who  feared  lest, 
amid  the  uncertainties  and  perils  to  which  his  life  is  constantly 
exposed,  his  career  should  be  cut  short  before  any  record  that 

3 


4  EDITORIAL  PREFACE 

might  be  given  to  the  public  had  been  prepared,  impressed 
upon  him  the  duty  of  meeting  this  reasonable  demand.  To  a 
man  of  his  ardent  temperament  and  active  habits  prolonged 
literary  work  is  the  most  irksome  drudgery.  He  would  rather 
face  a  heathen  mob  than  write  a  chapter  for  a  book.  But  con- 
vinced of  its  importance,  he  undertook  the  task,  receiving 
valuable  assistance  from  the  Rev.  W.  S.  McTavish,  B.D.  For 
weeks  together  he  did  little  else  than  ransack  note-books  and 
journals,  and  explore  the  stores  of  his  capacious  memory. 

A  few  months  ago  Dr.  MacKay  put  into  my  hands  a  mass 
of  literary  material — notes,  observations,  extracts  from  diaries 
and  reports,  studies  in  science,  fragments  of  description, 
sketches  of  character — and  laid  upon  me  the  responsibility  of 
organizing  this  material  into  form  and  life.  This  responsibility 
was  increased  rather  than  diminished  by  the  very  full  editorial 
powers  allowed  me.  I  knew  how  easy  it  was  to  be  "  worlds 
away  "  ;  for,  as  Macaulay  says  about  the  writing  of  history,  the 
details  might  all  be  true  and  the  total  impression  inadequate 
and  misleading.  Every  scrap  of  material  was  read  and  stud- 
ied under  the  author's  eye,  annotations  were  made  at  his  dicta- 
tion, and  the  plan  of  classification  and  arrangement  received 
his  cordial  approval.  As  the  work  progressed  and  the  gaps 
in  the  story  became  apparent,  additional  matter  was  obtained, 
and  nearly  all  of  the  manuscript  in  its  final  form  was  revised  by 
him.  The  aim  in  editing  has  been  to  preserve  in  its  integrity 
not  only  the  substance  but  the  literary  style  of  the  author — to 
retain  something  of  the  vigor,  the  boldness,  the  Celtic  enthusi- 
asm, so  characteristic  of  Dr.  MacKay's  public  speech. 

It  is  believed  that  the  intelligent  public  will  appreciate  solid 
information  as  well  as  moving  incident ;  and  it  was  Dr.  Mac- 
Kay's  desire  that  prominence  should  be  given  to  what  may  be 
least  romantic,  but  is  most  instructive.  The  chapters  in  the 
second  division  of  the  book,  "  The  Island,"  are  of  necessity 
brief  and  fragmentary,  the  exigencies  of  space  preventing  the 


EDITORIAL   PREFACE  5 

author's  supplying  fuller  information  about  Formosa,  its  re- 
sources and  people.  The  editor  is  responsible  for  much  of 
the  personal  element  found  throughout  the  book,  Dr.  MacKay 
reluctantly  consenting  to  the  introduction,  necessary  to  an 
understanding  of  a  foreign  missionary's  life  and  work,  of  many 
incidents  and  personal  experiences  elicited  in  the  course  of  con- 
versation. While  the  book  was  being  prepared  the  political 
relations  of  Formosa  were  being  changed ;  these  changes  are 
referred  to  as  likely  to  affect  mission  work  materially,  though 
not  injuriously,  but  the  Chinese  view-point  is  retained. 

For  several  months  I  was  in  constant  and  intimate  associa- 
tion with  Dr.  MacKay,  coming  into  closest  touch  with  him, 
coming  to  know  him  as  one  is  known  only  to  the  nearest  and 
most  sympathetic  friends.  To  see  the  man  of  indomitable  en- 
ergy, unflinching  courage,  and  iron  will  shrink  from  anything 
like  self-assertion,  and  yield  without  dispute  to  another's  judg- 
ment, would  be  a  revelation  for  which  they  are  not  prepared 
who  know  him  only  as  a  man  of  speech  and  action.  To  see 
his  modest  self-effacement,  and  to  know  how  real  his  faith  is, 
how  personal  God  is  to  him,  is  to  grasp  the  secret  of  his  suc- 
cess. Few  men  in  any  age  of  the  church  have  had  a  vivider 
sense  of  the  divine  nearness.  The  God  he  serves  is  a  pavilion- 
ing presence  and  a  prevailing  power  in  his  soul.  Such  a  prophet 
is  Christ's  greatest  gift  to  his  church.  To  him  there  can  come 
no  failure ;  whatever  ought  to  be  can  be. 

The  publishers  have  spared  no  pains  in  the  production  of 
this  book.  Maps  have  been  specially  prepared,  the  three  of 
North  Formosa  being  reproduced  from  sketches  made  by  Dr. 
MacKay,  that  of  the  island  from  the  British  Admiralty  chart ; 
illustrations  have  been  made  from  photographs  taken  in  For- 
mosa by  Koa  Kau,  Dr.  MacKay's  Chinese  student ;  the  cover 
design  represents  the  flower  of  the  rice-plant,  the  rice  in  the 
ear,  and  the  method  of  rice  harvesting  described  in  Chapter 
XXII. ;  and  the  greatest  care  has  been  taken  to  avoid  median- 


6  EDITORIAL   PREFACE 

ical  errors,  to  which   a   book   dealing  with  life  in  a  foreign 
country  is  liable. 

It  remains  only  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  the 
Rev.  R.  P.  MacKay,  B.A.,  Toronto,  secretary  of  the  Foreign 
Mission  Committee  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada, 
without  whose  counsel  and  assistance  the  editor's  work  would 
have  been  less  satisfactory,  if,  indeed,  it  could  have  been  done 
at  all  in  the  press  of  other  duties. 

"  From  Far  Formosa  "  is  sent  out  with  the  prayer  that  it 
may  be  used  of  God  in  stimulating  intelligent  interest  in  the 
cause  of  world-wide  missions. 

J.  A.  Macdonald. 

St.  Thomas,  Ontario, 
November,  1895. 


CONTENTS 


Introductory 

PAGE 

i.  Early  Years  of  the  Author 13 

2.  At  Princeton  and  Edinburgh 18 

3.  Toronto  to  Tamsui 26 

4.  First  Views  of  Formosa S3 

The  Island 

5.  Geography  and  History 41 

6.  Geology 48 

7.  Trees,  Plants,  and  Flowers 55 

8.  Animal  Life 76 

9.  Ethnology  in  Outline 92 

Among  the  Chinese 

10.  The  People 101 

1 1.  Government  and  Justice 104 

12.  Industrial  and  Social  Life 113 

13.  Chinese  Religious  Life 125 

14.  Beginnings  of  Mission  Work 135 

15.  The  First  Native  Preacher  and  his  Church 142 

16.  Establishing  Churches 153 

17.  How  Bang-kah  was  Taken 164 

18.  Touring  in  the  North 172 

19.  The  Waiting  Isles 182 

20.  The  Coming  of  the  French 189 

7 


8  CONTENTS 

The  Conquered  Aborigines 

PAGE 

21.  Pe-po-hoan  Characteristics 205 

22.  Rice-farming  in  Formosa 209 

23.  Mission  Work  among  the  Pe-po-hoan 215 

24.  A  Trip  down  the  East  Coast 226 

25.  A  Sek-hoan   Mission 238 

26.  Life  among  the  Lam-si-hoan 241 

The  Mountain  Savages 

27.  Savage  Life  and  Customs 251 

28.  With  the  Head-Hunters 267 

At  Headquarters 

29.  A  Sketch  of  Tamsui 281 

30.  Training  a  Native  Ministry 285 

31.  Oxford  College 291 

32.  Native  Workers  for  Native  Women 297 

^^.  Medical  Work  and  the  Hospital 308 

34.  Foreigners  and  the  Missions 318 

35.  With  the  English  Presbyterians 324 

36.  Retrospect  and  Prospect 330 

Index 341 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Dr.  MacKay,  Mrs.  MacKay,  and  Family Frontispiece 

Water-buffaloes  drawing  Sugar-cane Facing  page    78 

Aborigines  eating  Rice  | 

A  Village  in  Eastern  Formosa  ) 

Dr.  MacKay  and  Students  on  the  March "  172 

Dr.  MacKay  and  Students  descending  a  Moun- 
tain   "  180 

Chapel  at  Sin-tiam,  built  of  Stone "  191 

Winnowing  Rice  with  a  Fanning-mill "  212 

Bound  for  the  Ki-lai  Plain "  226 

Armed  Pe-po-hoan  near  Savage  Territory "  234 

Lam-si-hoan  Chief  and  Party "  242 

In  a  Lam-si-hoan  Village  "  248 

Unsubdued  Aborigines  living  in  the  Mountains  "  256 

Armed  Head-hunters,  known  as  "Black  Flags"  "  268 

Oxford  College,  Tamsui    "  291 

A  Pe-po-hoan  Weaver "  306 

A  Dental  Operation '«  315 


MAPS 

Island  of  Formosa 

Geological  Map  of  North  Formosa 

Botanical  Map  of  North  Formosa 

Map  of   North   Formosa   showing   Mission   Sta- 
tions   

9 


Facing  page  41 
49 
55 

153 


INTRODUCTORY 


II 


iAf  aV  ^  aV  aV  >V  aV  aV  ^V  a^  aV  aV  aV  aV  a^  aV  aV  aIa  aV  a^ 
WSssMSS&m  5S^^Ry£  ^^^.r  ^.  SK*?!*  Ar^I^r^  %k 


FROM    FAR    FORMOSA 


CHAPTER    I 

EARLY  YEARS  OF  THE  AUTHOR 

Point  of  view — Ancestors — Life  in  Zorra — William  C.  Burns — Home- 
missionary  service 

FAR  Formosa  is  dear  to  my  heart.  On  that  island  the  best 
of  my  years  have  been  spent.  There  the  interest  of  my 
life  has  been  centered.  I  love  to  look  up  to  its  lofty  peaks, 
down  into  its  yawning  chasms,  and  away  out  on  its  surging 
sea.  I  love  its  dark-skinned  people — Chinese,  Pepohoan,  and 
savage — among  whom  I  have  gone  these  twenty-three  years, 
preaching  the  gospel  of  Jesus.  To  serve  them  in  the  gospel 
I  would  gladly,  a  thousand  times  over,  give  up  my  life.  Be- 
fore what  I  now  write  has  been  read  I  will  have  set  my  face 
once  more  westward  toward  the  far  East,  and  by  God's  good 
hand  will  have  reached  again  my  beloved  Formosan  home 
beyond  the  Pacific  Sea.  There  I  hope  to  spend  what  remains 
of  my  life,  and  when  my  day  of  service  is  over  I  should  like 
to  find  a  resting-place  within  sound  of  its  surf  and  under  the 
shade  of  its  waving  bamboo. 

I  love  my  island  home,  but  not  once  in  all  these  years  have 
I  forgotten  the  land  of  my  childhood  or  ceased  to  be  proud 

13 


14  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

of  it.  Many  a  time  in  those  first  friendless  days,  when  tongues 
were  strange  and  hearts  were  hard  and  the  mob  howled  loud- 
est in  the  street;  many  a  time  among  cruel  savages  in  the 
mountains,  when  their  orgies  rose  wildest  into  the  night; 
many  a  time  alone  in  the  awful  silence  of  primeval  forests,  in 
solitudes  never  before  disturbed  by  a  white  man's  tread — 
many,  many  a  time  during  these  three  and  twenty  years  have 
I  looked  back  from  far  Formosa,  in  fancy  gazed  on  my  Zorra 
home,  and  joined  in  the  morning  or  evening  psalm.  Memo- 
ries of  Canada  were  sweet  to  me  then  ;  and  now,  when  I  come 
to  tell  something  of  life  in  that  far-off  isle,  the  view-point  I 
take  is  life  in  the  land  of  my  birth. 

My  father,  George  MacKay,  a  Scottish  Highlander,  with 
his  wife,  Helen  Sutherland,  emigrated  from  Sutherlandshire  to 
Canada  in  1830.  There  had  been  dark  days  in  Scotland — 
the  dark  and  gloomy  days  of  the  "  Sutherlandshire  Clear- 
ances," when  hundreds  of  tenant-farmers,  whose  fathers  were 
born  on  the  estate  and  shed  their  blood  for  its  duke,  were 
with  their  wives  and  families  evicted,  the  wild  notes  of  their 
pibroch  among  the  hills  and  the  solemn  strains  of  their  Gaelic 
psalms  in  the  glens  giving  place  to  the  bleating  of  the  sheep 
and  the  hallo  of  the  huntsman.  Ruined  cottages,  deserted 
churches,  and  desecrated  graves  were  the  "  gloomy  memories  " 
they  carried  with  them  from  Scotland,  and  they  crossed  the 
sea  in  time  to  face  the  dark  and  stormy  days  of  the  Canadian 
rebellion.  They  made  their  home  in  what  was  then  the  wilds 
of  Upper  Canada,  and  on  their  farm  in  the  township  of  Zorra 
reared  their  family  of  six  children,  of  whom  I  was  the  young- 
est ;  and  in  the  burying-ground  beside  the  "  old  log  church  " 
their  weary  bodies  rest. 

Peace  to  the  honored  dust  of  those  brave  pioneers!  They 
were  cast  in  nature's  sternest  mold,  but  were  men  of  heroic 
soul.  Little  of  this  world's  goods  did  they  possess.  All  day 
long  their  axes  rang  in  the  forests,  and  at  night  the  smoke  of 


EARLY  YEARS   OF   THE  AUTHOR  15 

burning  log-heaps  hung  over  their  humble  homes.  But  they 
overcame.  The  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  have  indeed 
been  made  glad.  And  more.  They  did  more  than  hew  down 
forests,  construct  roads,  erect  homes,  and  transform  sluggish 
swamps  into  fields  of  brown  and  gold.  They  worshiped  and 
served  the  eternal  God,  taught  their  children  to  read  the  Bible 
and  believe  it,  listen  to  conscience  and  obey  it,  observe  the 
Sabbath  and  love  it,  and  to  honor  and  reverence  the  office  of 
the  gospel  ministry.  Their  theology  may  have  been  narrow, 
but  it  was  deep  and  high.  They  left  a  heritage  of  truth,  and 
their  memory  is  still  an  inspiration.  Their  children  have  risen 
up  to  bless  them  in  the  gates.  From  the  homes  of  the  con- 
gregation that  worshiped  in  the  "  old  log  church "  at  least 
thirty-eight  young  men  have  gone  forth  to  be  heralds  of  the 
cross  in  the  ministry  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

In  such  a  home  and  amid  such  surroundings  I  was  born  on 
the  2 1  st  of  March,  1844.  That  was  the  year  of  the  disruption 
in  Canada,  and  the  Zorra  congregation,  with  the  Rev.  Donald 
McKenzie,  its  minister,  joined  the  Free  Church.  The  type 
of  religious  life  was  distinctly  Highland.  Men  believed  and 
felt,  but  seldom  spoke  about  their  own  deeper  personal  spiritual 
experiences.  There  were  no  Sabbath-schools  or  Christian 
Endeavor  Societies  in  Zorra  fifty  years  ago.  Children  were 
taught  the  Bible  and  the  Shorter  Catechism  in  the  home,  and 
on  the  Sabbath  in  the  church  the  great  doctrines  of  grace 
were  preached  with  faithfulness  and  power.  Men  may  talk 
slightingly  to-day  about  that  "  stern  old  Calvinism."  They 
would  do  well  to  pause  and  ask  about  its  fruits.  What  other 
creed  has  so  swept  the  whole  field  of  life  with  the  dread  artil- 
lery of  truth,  and  made  men  unflinchingly  loyal  to  conscience 
and  tremorless  save  in  the  presence  of  God?  The  iron  of 
Calvinism  is  needed  to-day  in  the  blood  of  the  church.  It 
may  be  we  heard  much  about  sin  and  law  in  those  olden 
days,  but  love  and  grace  were  not  obscured.     It  may  be  the 


1 6  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

children  were  reticent  and  backward  in  the  church,  but  they 
knew  what  secret  sorrow  for  sin  meant,  and  they  found  comfort 
at  the  cross.  Before  I  reached  the  age  of  ten  the  ever-blessed 
Name  was  sweet  and  sacred  in  my  ear.  The  paraphrase 
beginning  with  the  words 

"  While  humble  shepherds  watched  their  flocks 
In  Bethlehem's  plains  by  night," 

repeated  at  my  mother's  knee  in  the  quiet  of  the  Sabbath 
evening,  early  made  a  deep  impression  on  my  soul.  It  was 
then  that  the  thought  of  being  a  missionary  first  came.  Wil- 
liam C.  Burns  had  visited  Woodstock  and  Zorra  on  his  tours 
through  Canada,  and  poured  a  new  stream  into  the  current 
of  religious  life.  His  name  was  cherished  in  the  home,  and 
something  of  his  spirit  touched  my  boyish  heart.  My  grand- 
father fought  at  Waterloo ;  his  martial  soul  went  into  my 
blood ;  and  when  once  I  owned  the  Saviour  King,  the  com- 
mand, "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature,"  made  me  a  soldier  of  the  cross.  To  be  a 
missionary  became  the  passion  of  my  life.  That  was  the 
dominant  idea  through  all  the  years  during  which  I  served  as 
school-teacher  at  Maplewood  and  Maitlandville,  as  scholar  at 
Woodstock  and  Omemee  grammar-schools,  as  student  of  arts 
in  Toronto,  and  as  student-missionary  during  the  summer  va- 
cations at  Blue  Mountain,  Port  Burwell  and  Vienna,  Lucan 
and  Biddulph,  Forest  and  MacKay. 

A  quarter  of  a  century  has  passed  since  I  served  the  church 
in  those  struggling  home  mission  fields.  The  greater  part  of 
that  time  I  have  been  far  hence  among  the  heathen,  and  am 
called  a  foreign  missionary.  But  not  now — not  once  in  all 
these  years — have  I  thought  the  foreign  claims  superior  to  the 
home,  or  honored  the  foreign  missionary  above  his  equally 
heroic  and  equally  faithful  brother  who  toils  in  the  obscurity 
of  a  broken-down  village,  in  the  darkness  of  ultramontane 


EARLY    YEARS    OE    THE   AUTHOR  *7 

Quebec,  or  amid  the  pioneer  hardships  of  the  newer  settle- 
ments in  Canada.  It  is  not  for  me — it  is  not  for  any  foreign 
missionary — to  look  loftily  on  the  ministry  at  home,  or  think 
of  them  as  less  loyal,  unselfish,  and  true.  We  are  all  mission- 
aries, the  sent  ones  of  the  King,  and  not  our  fields,  but  our 
faithfulness,  matters.  Many  of  the  church's  first  may  be  last 
when  the  Master  comes. 


CHAPTER    II 

AT    PRINCETON    AND    EDINBURGH 

At  Princeton  Seminary — Offer  for  foreign  service —  Under  Dr.  Duff  in 
Edinburgh — In  the  Scottish  Highlands — Accepted  by  the  General 
Assembly — Visiting  the  churches 

HAVING  completed  my  preparatory  studies  in  Toronto,  I 
went  to  Princeton  early  in  September,  1867,  and  was 
enrolled  as  a  student  in  the  Theological  Seminary  there.  The 
three  years  spent  in  that  historic  institution  were  full  of  interest 
and  inspiration.  All  the  professors  were  able,  zealous,  and 
devoted  men.  Dr.  Green,  the  Hebraist,  was  vigorous  and 
penetrating.  Dr.  James  McCosh,  of  the*  college,  lectured 
every  Lord's  day  on  the  life  of  Christ,  with  characteristic 
energy  and  power.  But  it  was  Dr.  Charles  Hodge  who  most 
deeply  impressed  himself  on  my  heart  and  life.  Princeton 
men  all  loved  him.  No  others  knew  his  real  worth.  Not  in 
his  monumental  work  on  systematic  theology  can  Charles 
Hodge  be  best  seen  ;  but  in  the  class-room,  or  in  the  oratory  at 
the  Sabbath  afternoon  conference.  There  you  saw  the  real 
man  and  felt  his  power.  Can  any  Princeton  man  forget  those 
sacred  hours?  How  that  charming  face  would  brighten  and 
those  large  luminous  eyes  grow  soft  and  tender  with  the  light 
of  love!  How  awed  we  sometimes  were  when  that  trembling 
hand  came  down  on  the  desk  and  those  lips  quivered  with  a 


AT  PRINCETON  AND  EDINBURGH  19 

strange  and  holy  speech !  To  look  in  on  a  Princeton  class  in 
those  days  would  be  to  see  what  a  well-founded  reverence 
meant. 

On  Tuesday,  April  26,  1870,  I  was  graduated,  having  com- 
pleted the  full  curriculum  of  the  seminary.  It  was  a  memor- 
able day.  According  to  the  old  Princeton  custom,  the  pro- 
fessors and  the  graduating  class  met  on  the  campus.  The 
graduates  threw  their  prized  diplomas  on  the  ground,  and  with 
the  professors  formed  a  ring,  joining  crossed  hands.  We  sang 
"  From  Greenland's  icy  mountains  "  and  "  Blest  be  the  tie  that 
binds."  Dr.  Charles  Hodge  stepped  into  the  circle.  There 
was  a  tremor  in  his  voice  as  he  prayed  for  us  all  and  lifted 
his  hands  in  benediction.  What  a  benediction!  His  eyes 
were  moist  as  he  said  good-by.  We  parted  in  tears.  The 
class  of  '70  was  soon  scattered.  That  night  I  was  on  my  way 
to  Canada. 

The  summer  of  1870  I  spent  within  the  Presbytery  of 
Toronto,  laboring  in  the  mission  stations  of  Newmarket  and 
Mount  Albert.  The  Rev.  Professor  MacLaren,  D.D.,  at  that 
time  minister  in  Ottawa,  was  convener  of  the  Foreign  Mission 
Committee.  To  him  I  stated  my  desire  to  go  abroad  as  a 
missionary.  He  encouraged  me,  and  invited  me  to  meet  the 
committee  early  in  October.  I  have  never  forgotten  that 
meeting.  It  was  not  very  hopeful  or  enthusiastic.  It  was  a 
new  experience  for  the  committee.  They  scarcely  knew  what 
to  do  with  a  candidate  for  foreign  work.  When  I  formally 
offered  my  services  to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  asked  to 
be  sent  as  a  missionary  to  the  heathen,  one  member  looked 
me  in  the  face  and  said,  "  Mr.  MacKay,  you  had  better  wait 
a  few  years."  Another  argued  for  delay :  "  As  he  is  going  to 
Scotland,  let  him  go,  and  on  his  return  we  can  think  over  the 
matter  for  a  year  or  two."  A  third  suggested  Madagascar  as 
a  field  for  future  consideration.  The  convener  pleaded  for 
immediate  acceptance  and   appointment.      I  was  told,  how- 


20  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

ever,  that  the  subject  would  be  considered  and  the  decision 
made  known  to  me  in  due  time. 

A  fortnight  later  I  found  myself  on  board  the  steamship 
"Austrian,"  of  the  Allan  line,  en  route  from  Quebec  to  Liver- 
pool. Money  was  scarce,  and  I  was  content  with  steerage 
passage.  It  was  dismal  enough  at  best,  but  I  was  a  novice 
and  unprovided  for.  The  dreariness  of  the  voyage  was 
somewhat  relieved  by  a  burly  Englishman  who  entertained 
his  fellows  in  the  steerage  and  found  expression  for  his  loyal 
soul  in  a  song  about  King  George,  which  he  sang  regularly 
every  night,  and  danced  his  own  accompaniment.  From 
Liverpool  to  Glasgow  was  a  sickening  run,  on  a  coaster  called 
"  Penguin,"  with  a  drunken  crew  and  carousing  passengers. 
In  Glasgow  I  spent  a  delightful  hour  with  the  great  Dr.  Patrick 
Fairbairn.  Two  days  later,  November  4th,  I  arrived  in  Edin- 
burgh. That  was  my  destination,  and  to  meet  one  man  there 
I  had  crossed  the  Atlantic.  That  man  was  the  venerable  mis- 
sionary hero,  Dr.  Alexander  Duff.  The  story  of  his  life  had 
already  fired  my  soul,  and  when  I  met  him  I  was  not  disap- 
pointed. I  was  a  young  man,  unknown  and  poor ;  but  when 
he  learned  the  purpose  of  my  life,  and  that  I  had  crossed  the 
sea  to  sit  at  his  feet,  his  welcome  was  that  of  a  warm-hearted, 
godly  Highlander. 

While  in  Edinburgh  I  took  a  postgraduate  course,  hearing 
lectures  from  Professor  John  Stuart  Blackie  in  the  university, 
and  from  Drs.  Smeaton,  Blaikie,  Rainy,  and  Duff,  in  New 
College.  Dr.  Duff  was  professor  of  evangelistic  theology,  and 
under  his  supervision  I  studied  Brahmanism  and  Buddhism, 
and  learned  Hindustani  with  Mr.  Johnston  of  the  Edinburgh 
Institution,  having  in  view  the  India  mission  field.  Dr. 
Duff's  lectures  were  rich  in  matter  and  glowing  with  holy  fire. 
At  times  he  grew  animated,  threw  off  his  gown,  and  gave  his 
Celtic  nature  vent.  He  was  specially  kind  to  me.  I  spent 
many  hours  with  him  in  his  private  room  and  at  his  home.     I 


AT  PRINCETON  AND  EDINBURGH  21 

well  remember  the  evening  he  showed  me  the  Bible  recovered 
after  his  shipwreck  off  the  coast  of  Africa.  It  was  doubly 
holy  in  my  eyes.  I  saw  him  for  the  last  time  on  March  13, 
187 1.  He  had  gone  to  Aberdeen  to  deliver  a  course  of 
lectures  to  the  students  in  the  Free  Church  College.  Early 
in  March  I  followed,  and  the  first  day  occupied  a  seat  in  his 
class  near  the  door.  His  unfailing  kindness  again  was  shown, 
and  his  cordial  words  of  introduction  to  the  students  secured 
for  me  a  hearty  welcome  :  "  Gentlemen,  here  is  my  friend  from 
Canada,  bound  for  a  heathen  land.  Show  him  that  there  are 
loving  hearts  in  the  '  Granite  City.'  "  A  few  days  afterward, 
at  the  close  of  his  lecture,  he  walked  down  Union  Street  with 
me.  When  near  the  Queen's  Monument  he  stood  still,  looked 
me  in  the  face,  grasped  my  hand  tightly  in  both  of  his,  spoke 
words  too  kind  and  sacred  to  be  repeated,  wheeled  about,  and 
was  gone.  Heroic  Duff!  Let  Scotland  and  India  and  the 
churches  of  Christendom  bear  testimony  to  the  loftiness  of  thy 
spirit,  the  consuming  energy  of  thy  zeal,  the  noble  heroism  of 
thy  service. 

There  were  great  preachers  in  Edinburgh,  under  whom  it 
was  a  delight  to  sit.  Who  could  forget  Candlish  or  Guthrie? 
Arnot  was  there  then,  and  Lindsay  Alexander,  Cairns,  Mac- 
Gregor,  and  Alexander  Whyte.  With  Candlish  and  Guthrie 
I  became  personally  acquainted — both  truly  great  men,  but 
how  very  different!  At  Candlish's  home  I  sat  with  him  for 
well-nigh  two  hours,  until  the  bell  rang  for  dinner.  He  paced 
the  floor  all  the  while.  Sometimes  he  would  turn  sharply  and 
ask  about  something  in  Canada.  Then,  running  his  left  hand 
through  his  long,  unkempt  hair,  he  would  take  a  few  more 
rapid  rounds.  It  was  not  altogether  reassuring  to  a  backward 
young  man.  Guthrie,  again,  was  the  soul  of  geniality.  His 
family  was  with  him  in  the  room,  and  at  his  side  his  favorite 
little  dog.  He  sat  in  an  easy-chair  with  his  long  legs  stretched 
out,  bubbling  over  with  humor. 


22  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

That  winter  in  Edinburgh  gave  me  experience  in  city 
mission  work,  and  with  other  students  I  labored  among  the 
submerged  outcasts  in  the  Cowgate  and  Grassmarket.  Like 
every  man  who  claims  to  have  Scottish  blood,  I  came  to  love 
the  famous  old  city,  with  its  castle,  cathedral,  and  palace,  its 
historic  scenes  and  thousand  cherished  memories.  I  was 
proud  then  of  being  in  Edinburgh,  and  although  I  have  since 
twice  circled  the  globe,  not  in  Orient  or  Occident  have  I  seen 
a  city  to  compare  with  "  Scotia's  darling  seat." 

After  the  close  of  the  colleges  in  March,  I  went  north  to 
Sutherlandshire,  the  land  of  my  forefathers,  spending  the  time 
chiefly  at  Dornoch,  Tain,  Golspie,  and  Rogart.  The  question 
of  my  life-work  now  became  pressing.  No  word  had  come 
from  Canada,  and  I  began  to  despair  of  service  in  connection 
with  the  Canadian  church.  But  on  Friday  evening,  April 
14th,  while  I  was  considering  seriously  the  advisability  of 
offering  my  services  to  one  of  the  Scottish  or  American 
churches,  a  letter  came  from  Dr.  MacLaren  stating  that  the 
Foreign  Mission  Committee  had  decided  to  recommend  the 
General  Assembly  that  I  be  accepted  as  their  first  missionary 
to  the  heathen  world.  It  sent  a  thrill  of  joy  to  my  heart. 
Accepted,  and  by  my  own  beloved  church! 

The  next  day  I  left  the  heathery  hills,  and  three  days  later 
was  on  board  the  "  Caledonia,"  bound  from  Glasgow  to  New 
York.  I  was  again  a  steerage  passenger,  but  for  my  com- 
panions had  over  seven  hundred  Irish  Roman  Catholic  emi- 
grants. I  have  seen  something  of  the  under-side  of  life  since 
then,  I  have  looked  upon  human  beings  in  all  stages  of  degra- 
dation and  in  all  conditions  of  filth ;  but  nothing  has  been 
able  to  blot  out  of  my  memory  the  impression  made  by  the 
sights  and  sounds  of  that  homeward  voyage.  Right  glad  I 
was,  after  nearly  three  long  weeks,  to  breathe  once  more  the 
pure  air  of  heaven,  and  refresh  my  eyes  with  scenes  that  were 
wholesome  and  clean. 


AT  PRINCETON  AND   EDINBURGH  23 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Canada  Presbyterian  Church 
was  called  to  meet  in  the  city  of  Quebec  on  the  second 
Wednesday  of  June.  I  was  invited  by  the  Foreign  Mission 
Committee  to  be  present  at  that  Assembly.  That  venerable 
court  was  opened  by  the  retiring  moderator,  the  late  Principal 
Michael  Willis.  The  Rev.  John  Scott,  D.D.,  then  minister  of 
St.  Andrew's  Church,  London,  was  elected  moderator.  There 
were  "  burning  questions  "  before  that  Assembly.  The  "  Or- 
gan "  was  beginning  to  make  itself  heard  in  the  church,  and 
the  question  of  union  with  the  "  Old  Kirk  "  in  Canada  was 
quite  to  the  front.  But  to  me  all  interest  centered  around  the 
report  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Committee.  Would  the  Assem- 
bly adopt  the  committee's  recommendation?  If  so,  to  what 
field  would  I  be  sent?  The  committee's  report  was  presented 
on  Wednesday,  June  14th.  It  urged  the  Assembly  "  to  favor 
mission  work  among  the  heathen."  It  stated:  "A  man  has 
offered,  and  the  church  seems  prepared  to  meet  the  liability. 
Mr.  MacKay,  a  student  of  the  church,  having  passed  the 
winter  under  Dr.  Duff,  is  now  in  this  city,  ready  to  undertake 
the  work  which  the  church  may  appoint."  Three  fields  were 
suggested — India,  the  New  Hebrides,  and  China.  The  report 
preferred  China.     The  Assembly  decided : 

"  That  the  offer  of  Mr.  George  L.  MacKay's  services  as  a 
missionary  to  the  heathen  be  cordially  welcomed,  and  that  he 
be,  as  he  is  hereby,  called  by  this  Assembly  to  go  forth  as  a 
missionary  of  the  Canada  Presbyterian  Church  to  the  foreign 
field; 

"  That  China  be  chosen  as  the  field  to  which  Mr.  MacKay 
shall  be  sent ; 

"  That  the  Presbytery  of  Toronto  be  authorized  to  ordain 
Mr.  MacKay  to  the  holy  ministry,  and  to  make  arrangements, 
in  accordance  with  the  Foreign  Mission  Committee,  for  his 
designation  to  the  work  whereunto  he  has  been  called." 

That  evening  I  was  introduced  to  the  General  Assembly 


24  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

as  "the  first  foreign  missionary  of  the  Canada  Presbyterian 
Church,"  and  was  invited  to  address  the  court.  The  "  fathers 
and  brethren "  were  kind  to  me  that  night ;  some  of  them 
thought  me  an  "  enthusiast,"  and  pitied  me.  Dr.  John  Hall 
of  New  York  was  on  the  platform,  as  deputy  from  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  the  United  States ;  and  when  I  had  finished 
speaking  he  led  the  Assembly  in  prayer,  commending  "the 
young  missionary  "  to  the  care  of  the  eternal  God,  praying  for 
"journeying  mercies"  and  the  sure  guidance  of  the  Jehovah 
of  Israel. 

In  those  days  the  church  in  Canada  was  divided  and  weak. 
The  union  of  1875,  that  consolidated  Presbyterianism  in 
British  North  America  into  one  harmonious,  strong,  and  ag- 
gressive church,  and  that  has  made  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  Canada  not  the  least  in  the  great  family  of  the  churches 
of  the  Reformation,  had  not  yet  been  consummated.  The 
missionary  effort  of  the  church  was  directed  almost  entirely 
to  work  at  home.  Now  that  a  new  move  had  been  made,  it 
was  necessary  that  funds  be  provided  to  meet  the  expense. 
To  assist  in  awakening  an  interest  in  the  cause  of  foreign  mis- 
sions I  was  appointed  to  visit  various  congregations  in  Quebec 
and  throughout  Ontario  during  the  summer  of  187 1.  I  visited 
a  good  many  churches  between  Quebec  and  Goderich,  carry- 
ing out  Paul's  injunction  to  Timothy ;  but  wrhen  I  discussed 
the  "  Master's  great  commission,"  and  undertook  to  "reprove, 
rebuke,  exhort,"  some  of  the  congregations  did  not  take  kindly 
to  the  exercise.  Some  very  uncomplimentary  things  were 
said,  and  I  was  called  "  an  excited  young  man."  There  was 
a  great  deal  of  apathy,  and  the  church  was  very  cold.  It 
seems  to  me  that  was  the  "ice  age."  But  there  were  some 
noble  exceptions.  Several  good  meetings  were  held  in  Mon- 
treal, and  I  was  greatly  cheered  by  the  kind  and  encourag- 
ing words  of  Principal  Mac  Vicar  and  the  great  geologist,  Sir 
William   Dawson.     A  union  meeting  was   held  in    Ottawa. 


AT  PRINCETON  AND   EDINBURGH  25 

Rev.  Dr.  MacLaren  was  minister  of  Knox  Church,  and  Dr. 
Moore  of  Bank  Street.  Their  noble  words  of  commendation 
and  appeal  stirred  more  hearts  than  mine.  At  Ayr  I  had  the 
good  fortune  to  meet  the  pastor  of  one  of  the  churches,  the 
late  Rev.  Walter  Inglis.  He  was  himself  a  veteran  missionary 
who  had  spent  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  the  Dark  Continent. 
He  felt  the  coldness  and  apathy  of  the  church,  but  his  royal 
nature  touched  it  all  with  warmth  and  sunshine :  "  Never 
worry,  young  man.  People  will  lecture  you  and  advise  you 
and  talk  about  the  cost.  Put  it  in  your  pocket  and  go  your 
way.     Things  will  change,  and  you'll  see  a  brighter  day." 

I  look  back  on  the  experiences  of  that  first  tour  of  the 
churches,  and  I  contrast  them  with  things  to-day.  Surely  the 
predicted  change  has  come.  Rip  Van  Winkle  saw  no  greater 
in  his  day.  Ministers  now  are  all  as  "  excited  "  as  I  was 
twenty-three  years  ago,  and  they  are  much  better  informed. 
Congregations  are  all  organized  for  mission  purposes.  Mis- 
sions is  the  most  popular  of  all  topics.  People  crowd  to  hear 
the  story  of  missionary  work  abroad.  There  are  "  mission  " 
evenings  at  every  General  Assembly.  Missionaries  are  desig- 
nated and  sent  out  every  year.  The  "  brighter  day  "  has  come. 
Thank  God,  I  have  lived  to  see  it.  The  past  is  forgotten  in 
the  joy  of  the  present,  and  the  future  is  pregnant  with  still 
greater  things.  To-morrow  will  be  as  to-day,  and  much  more 
abundant. 


CHAPTER    III 


TORONTO    TO    TAMSUI 


Ordination — Departure — On  the  way — Credentials — Alone — Japan — With 
English  Presbyterian  Missionaries — In  South  Formosa — At  Tamsui 
— "  This  is  the  land  !" 

TH  E  Presbytery  of  Toronto,  in  accordance  with  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  General  Assembly,  made  arrangements  for 
my  ordination  and  designation  on  Tuesday,  September  19th. 
I  appeared  before  the  Presbytery  in  the  afternoon  and  deliv- 
ered my  "  trials."  In  the  evening  the  ordination  service  was 
held  in  Gould  Street  Church.  The  pastor,  the  Rev.  John  M. 
King,  D.D.,  now  principal  of  Manitoba  College,  Winnipeg, 
preached  on  the  text,  "  His  name  shall  endure  forever."  At 
my  side  that  evening  was  another  candidate  for  the  holy  office, 
George  Bryce,  who  was  under  appointment  to  missionary  and 
educational  work  in  Manitoba.  Dr.  Bryce  has  served  the 
church  with  honor  and  success,  and  has  risen  to  distinction 
among  Canadian  educationists  and  authors.  That  evening 
we  stood  together  before  the  Rev.  J.  Pringle,  the  moderator, 
knelt  together,  and  by  "laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery" 
were  together  set  apart  to  the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry  and 
designated  to  our  respective  fields,  he  to  go  to  the  newer  West 
and  I  to  go  to  the  older  East.  The  convener  of  the  Foreign 
Mission  Committee  came  up  from  Ottawa  and  delivered  the 
"  charge  "  to  the  foreign  missionary.  My  companion  was 
similarly  addressed  in  the  name  of  the  Home  Mission  Com- 

26 


TORONTO   TO   TAMSUl  27 

mittee  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Laing,  now  minister  in  Dundas.  The 
speakers  recognized  the  importance  of  the  occasion  as  mark- 
ing a  forward  movement  in  both  the  home  and  foreign  work, 
and  as  suggesting  a  union  of  aims  and  interests  that  must 
never  be  sundered.  The  church's  work  is  one,  and  conflict 
will  be  fatal. 

One  month  after  ordination,  October  19,  1871,  I  bade  fare- 
well to  my  old  home  in  Zorra,  to  meet  again  an  unbroken 
family  circle  only  when  life's  sea  is  no  more.  What  was  said 
or  what  was  felt  need  not  now  be  told.  God  only  knows 
what  some  hearts  feel.  They  break,  perchance,  but  they  give 
no  sign. 

It  was  nearly  noon  when  the  west-bound  train  pulled  out 
of  the  station  at  Woodstock.  Our  first  run  was  to  Detroit. 
Chicago  was  next  reached — a  dreadful  sight — dust  and  ashes 
and  smoke.  The  "  great  fire  "  had  just  swept  over  the  city,  and 
was  still  smoking  and  smoldering.  The  third  run  was  to 
Omaha,  where  I  spent  the  first  Sabbath  day,  and  had  the 
privilege  of  preaching  the  blessed  gospel  to  a  crowd  assembled 
in  the  open  air  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city. 

Traveling  was  not  the  simple  affair  it  is  to-day.  There 
were  no  through  tickets  from  Toronto  to  Hong  Kong.  The 
missionary  traveled  over  several  roads  and  had  to  deal  with 
various  companies.  There  was  no  recognized  "  missionary 
rate."  But  the  railway  authorities  were  generous,  and  granted 
me  a  reduction  over  their  roads.  At  Omaha  the  agent  looked 
doubtful  when  I  told  him  I  was  a  missionary  bound  for  a 
heathen  land  and  asked  for  the  favor  granted  by  the  three 
roads  over  which  I  had  already  traveled.  "  I  do  not  know 
you,"  he  replied.  "Where  are  your  credentials?  "  I  had  no 
credentials,  nor  any  formal  document  by  which  I  might  be 
certified.  I  was  at  a  loss  what  to  do.  No  one  knew  me. 
Then  like  a  flash  the  thought  of  my  Bible  came  to  me.  It 
was  the  parting  gift  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Committee.     I 


28  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

produced  it  from  my  satchel  and  asked  the  agent  to  read  the 
inscription  on  the  fly-leaf : 

PRESENTED    TO 

Rev.  G.  L.  MACKAY, 

First   Missionary  of    the   Canada  Presbyterian  Church  to 

China,    by  the  Foreign  Mission  Committee,   as  a  parting 

token  of  their  esteem,  when  about  to  leave  his  native  land 

for  the  sphere  of  his  future  labors  among  the  heathen. 

William  MacLaren,  Convener. 
Ottawa,  9th  Oct.,  1871. 

Matt,  xxviii.    18-20.  Psalm  cxxi. 

These  were  my  credentials.  None  could  be  better.  No  other 
was  required.  I  wTas  soon  on  my  way  again,  and  on  October 
27th  arrived  at  San  Francisco.  Here  I  was  the  guest  of  a 
kind-hearted  Canadian,  Mr.  William  Gunn.  On  Wednesday, 
November  1st,  I  boarded  the  steamship  "  America,"  bound 
for  Hong  Kong.  My  host  and  two  city  missionaries,  Messrs. 
Condit  and  Loomis,  accompanied  me  on  board  to  say  fare- 
well. The  signal  was  given,  the  guns  were  fired,  the  stately 
ship  weighed  anchor,  slowly  steamed  out  through  the  "  Golden 
Gate,"  and  I  was  at  last  alone.  Such  experiences  are  com- 
mon enough  now,  but  then  they  were  new  and  strange.  I 
did  not  feel  afraid,  nor  sorry,  nor  glad.  Thoughts  of  home 
came,  thoughts  of  the  loved  ones  more  than  three  thousand 
miles  behind,  and  thoughts  of  what  might  be  before.  The 
sea  was  wade.  The  regions  beyond  were  dark  with  the  night 
of  heathenism  and  cruel  with  the  hate  of  sin.  Would  I  ever 
return  to  my  native  land?  And  my  life — what  would  it  matter 
against  such  fearful  odds?  Could  it  be  that  I  had  made  a 
mistake  ? 

Such  hours  come  to  us  all.  They  came  to  our  Lord.  They 
are  hours  of  testing  and  trial.  Sooner  or  later  the  soul  enters 
Gethsemane.     I  found  mine  that  day,  and  in  the  little  state- 


TORONTO   TO   TAMSU1  29 

room  the  soul  was  staggered  awhile.  But  it  was  not  for  long. 
The  Word  brought  light.  The  psalm  marked  by  the  committee 
on  the  fly-leaf  of  the  Book  began,  "  I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes 
unto  the  hills;"  and  the  promise  was,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you 
alway."  And  then  the  Forty-sixth  Psalm !  Oh,  how  often  it 
has  brought  comfort  and  peace!  When  the  waves  dashed 
in  fury  I  read  it.  Aye,  and  when  storms  arose  wilder,  more 
relentless,  and  deathful  than  any  that  ever  vexed  the  broad 
Pacific;  when  heathen  hate  and  savage  cruelty  rose  like  the 
hungry  sea,  the  blessed  words,  "  God  is  our  refuge  and 
strength,"  opened  wide  the  door  into  the  secret  of  His  pres- 
ence. On  that  day  in  my  state-room  I  read  it  again  and  again 
— precious  truth ;  glorious  refuge ;  God,  the  eternal  God. 
Hark,  my  soul  !  he  speaks:  "Certainly  I  will  be  with  thee." 
Begone,  unbelief!  God  in  heaven  is  the  keeper  of  my  soul. 
The  glorified  Jesus  says,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway." 

Voyaging  on  the  Pacific  is  a  pleasure  now.  A  quarter  of 
a  century  ago  it  was  otherwise.  There  were  no  palatial  Can- 
adian Pacific  steamers  then.  After  twenty-six  days  the  snow- 
clad  peaks  of  Fuji-yama,  the  Holy  Mountain  of  Japan,  was 
a  welcome  sight.  There  were  several  other  missionaries  on 
board,  whose  fellowship  was  refreshing  and  helpful.  From 
the  ship's  library  I  derived  benefit  and  pleasure  through  such 
works  as  "The  Social  Life  of  the  Chinese,"  by  Justus  Doo- 
little  ;  "  The  Middle  Kingdom,"  by  S.  Wells  Williams ;  "  China 
and  the  Chinese,"  by  John  L.  Nevius ;  and  "  China  and  the 
United  States,"  by  Spears. 

While  our  ship  was  lying  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Yoko- 
hama I  had  my  first  introduction  to  life  in  the  Orient.  Every- 
thing was  new  and  interesting.  The  boatmen  in  the  harbor, 
with  their  rice-straw  waterproof  coats,  reminded  me  of  pic- 
tures of  Robinson  Crusoe.  Large,  heavy  wooden  carts  were 
rolled  slowly  along  with  much  pulling,  pushing,  and  intermin- 
able grunting.     The  smart  rickshaw,  a  sort  of  overgrown  per- 


30  FROM  F    d  FORMOSA 

ambulator,  whisked  by,  the  runners  shouting,  in  their  Japanese 
gibberish,  "  Clear  the  way,  clear  the  way! " 

Leaving  Yokohama,  we  sailed  along  the  coast  of  China  until 
we  entered  a  narrow  strait,  and,  following  its  serpentine  course, 
were  soon  in  the  spacious  harbor  of  Hong  Kong.  Magnificent 
view !  — houses  ranged  tier  after  tier  far  up  the  steep  sides  of 
granite  hills ;  and  high  over  all  waved  the  flag  of  "  a  thousand 
years."  I  had  scarcely  got  rid  of  the  coolies,  who  in  their 
eagerness  for  the  job  of  carrying  my  baggage  had  been  pound- 
ing one  another  with  bamboo  poles,  when  a  Saxon  accent 
greeted  my  ears :  "  Are  you  MacKay  from  Canada?  "  That 
night  I  was  the  guest  of  Dr.  Eitel.  Next  day  I  took  the 
steamer  for  Canton.  There  on  the  pier  I  was  hailed  by 
McChesney,  a  Princeton  fellow-student.  The  night  was  spent 
with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Happer,  a  veteran  American  missionary. 

Having  returned  from  Hong  Kong,  I  took  passage  on  the 
steamship  "  Rona,"  and  on  the  following  Sabbath  we  dropped 
anchor  in  Swatow  harbor.  No  sooner  had  the  ship's  ladder 
been  lowered  than  two  Englishmen,  whom  we  had  been 
watching  as  they  rowed  out  in  a  sampan,  climbed  on  deck 
and  called  out,  "Is  MacKay  from  Canada  on  board?"  It 
did  not  take  long  to  make  myself  known,  and  the  strangers 
proved  to  be  Mr.  Hobson  of  the  Chinese  Imperial  Customs 
and  Dr.  Thompson  of  the  English  Presbyterian  Mission  at 
Swatow. 

Before  my  designation  the  Foreign  Mission  Committee  in 
Canada  had  correspondence  with  the  committee  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  England.  Mr.  James  E.  Matheson  of  that 
church  had  written  inviting  the  Canadian  church  to  share 
with  his  the  privilege  of  work  in  China;  and  in  appointing 
me  to  China  the  General  Assembly  made  special  mention  of 
cooperation  with  the  English  Presbyterian  missionaries.  The 
brethren  at  Swatow  were,  therefore,  made  aware  of  my  com- 
ing, and  right  cordial  was  their  welcome. 


TORONTO    TO   TAMSUl  31 

There  were  strong  inducements  presented  in  favor  of  settling 
in  the  Swatow  district,  but  I  resolved  first  to  see  Formosa. 
An  up-the-coast  steamer  carried  me  to  Amoy,  and  there  I 
got  a  British  schooner,  "  Kin-lin,"  and  crossed  the  channel  to 
Formosa.  I  had  no  plans,  but  invisible  cords  were  drawing 
me  to  the  "  Beautiful  Isle."  The  channel  passage  was  the 
last  and  worst  of  the  entire  voyage  from  Canada.  It  was  a 
night  of  thick  darkness,  howling  blasts,  and  a  plunging  sea. 
We  landed  at  Ta-kow,  on  the  south  of  the  island.  Here  I 
was  met  by  a  noble  young  physician,  Dr.  Manson,  who  took 
me  ashore  in  a  sampan.  On  the  following  Sabbath  morning, 
in  a  British  hong  (warehouse)  at  Ta-kow,  to  a  congregation 
of  captains,  officers,  engineers,  and  merchants,  I  preached  the 
gospel  of  a  crucified  Saviour.  It  was  the  last  day  of  the  year 
187 1,  and  that  was  my  first  sermon  in  Formosa. 

On  New- Year's  day,  1872,  I  set  out  from  Ta-kow  to  find 
the  Rev.  Hugh  Ritchie,  of  the  English  Presbyterian  Mission. 
He  was  at  A-li-kang,  twenty-six  miles  away.  It  was'  an  in- 
teresting walk,  even  though  my  Chinese  guide  was  a  man  of 
"  strange  speech."  In  the  evening,  as  I  drew  near  the  village, 
I  saw  a  man  dressed  in  blue  serge  and  wearing  a  large  white 
sun-hat.  I  took  him  to  be  Mr.  Ritchie,  and  so  accosted  him. 
"  Is  this  MacKay  from  Canada?  "  he  said,  and  with  both 
hands  he  made  me  welcome  to  Formosa.  For  twenty-six 
days  I  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  his  home,  and  found  him 
a  friend  with  a  large  heart,  a  Christian  with  a  high  ideal,  a 
missionary  full  of  self-denying  zeal,  and  his  estimable  wife  a 
laborer  of  like  mind.  I  learned  much  about  the  island  and 
the  methods  of  work  in  the  south,  and  traveled  many  times 
over  the  district  occupied  by  the  nine  stations  under  Mr. 
Ritchie's  charge.  I  made  good  use  of  his  Chinese  teacher, 
and  mastered  the  eight  "  tones  "  of  the  Formosan  dialect. 

Where  shall  I  settle?  was  a  question  still  to  be  answered. 
The  missionaries  on  the  mainland   pointed   to  the   "white 


32  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

fields  "  in  the  Swatow  district.  Here  in  the  south  they  told 
me  of  North  Formosa,  with  its  teeming  population  in  city  and 
plain  and  mountain  fastnesses,  for  whose  souls  no  man  cared. 
No  missionary  was  there.  The  foundations  of  a  mission  were 
not  laid.  To  that  work  I  felt  called.  "I  have  decided  to 
settle  in  North  Formosa,"  I  said  to  Mr.  Ritchie  one  day. 
"  God  bless  you,  MacKay,"  was  his  glad  response. 

On  March  7,  1872,  Mr.  Ritchie  and  I  set  out  to  explore 
the  field  chosen  for  my  future  work.  We  took  passage  to 
Tamsui,  a  seaport  on  the  north  of  the  island.  At  Tai-wan- 
fu,  in  the  southwest,  the  capital  of  Formosa,  where  the  Eng- 
lish Presbyterian  Mission  was  established  by  the  noble  Dr. 
Maxwell  in  1865,  we  were  joined  by  Dr.  Dickson,  leaving  the 
Rev.  W.  Campbell  in  charge  of  the  southern  chapels.  The 
"  Hailoong "  rolled  and  pitched  for  two  days,  and  then  we 
steamed  into  the  mouth  of  the  Tamsui  River  and  anchored 
there.  One  look  toward  the  north,  another  toward  the  south, 
another  far  inland  to  the  dark  green  hills,  and  I  was  content. 
There  came  to  me  a  calm,  clear,  prophetic  assurance  that  here 
would  be  my  home,  and  Something  said  to  me,  "  This  is  the 
land." 


CHAPTER    IV 


FIRST    VIEWS    OF    FORMOSA 


A  beautiful  parish — First  glimpses — Prospecting — First  night  at  an  inn 
— Malaria — A  Pe-po-hoan  village — With  the  aborigines  among  the 
mountains — Parting  company — Alone  in  Tamsui 

BEAUTIFUL  indeed  was  that  first  view  of  North  Formosa, 
as  seen  from  the  deck  of  the  steamer  in  the  harbor  at 
Tamsui.  We  all  stood  and  gazed,  deeply  impressed.  In  the 
evening  we  wandered  out  over  the  broad  table-land  and  the 
downs  toward  the  sea.  The  fine  large  fir-trees,  not  found 
near  Ta-kow,  attracted  Ritchie's  eye  and  reminded  him  of  his 
Scottish  home.  But  when  he  saw  the  situation  of  Tamsui, 
standing  over  against  a  solitary  mountain  peak  that  rose  sev- 
enteen hundred  feet,  and  backed  on  the  east  and  south  by 
range  after  range  climbing  two  thousand,  three  thousand,  and 
four  thousand  feet  high,  his  soul  was  stirred  to  its  depth,  and 
sweeping  the  horizon  with  his  hand  he  exclaimed : 

"  MacKay,  this  is  your  parish." 

"And  far  more  beautiful  it  is  than  Ta-kow,"  added  Dr. 
Dickson,  with  equal  emphasis. 

The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath.  There  was  no  preaching 
done  that  clay.  I  could  not  speak  the  language,  and  Ritchie 
and  Dickson  deemed  it  prudent  not  to  arouse  the  opposition 
of  the  people  by  untimely  service.  No  preaching  had  ever 
been  done  in  Tamsui,  or  anywhere  else  in  North  Formosa,  and 
we  left  the  people  to  surmise  about  us  what  they  chose.     Wre 

33 


34  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

spent  the  day  quietly  in  a  room  in  the  hong  of  John  Dodd, 
Esq.,  the  pioneer  British  merchant  at  Tamsui. 

As  the  purpose  of  Messrs.  Ritchie  and  Dickson  was  to  visit 
the  most  northerly  stations  of  their  field  by  overland  route 
from  Tamsui,  I  resolved  to  accompany  them  and  "spy  out 
the  land  "  in  which  I  was  to  labor.  It  was  one  hundred  and 
ten  miles  southwest  to  their  nearest  point.  Early  Monday 
morning  we  arose  and  made  ready  for  the  journey.  It  was  to 
be  taken  on  foot.  Ritchie  and  Dickson  brought  with  them 
one  man  each  to  serve  as  carriers.  Our  outfit  was  simple 
and  soon  prepared.  Some  salted  buffalo-meat,  a  few  cans 
of  American  condensed  milk,  pressed  meat,  biscuits,  and 
coffee  formed  our  food-supply.  Ritchie  wore  a  blue  serge 
suit,  Dickson  a  Scotch  tweed,  and  I  my  Canadian  gray.  We 
started  out  three  abreast,  with  the  carriers  behind  in  single 
file.  Walking  toward  the  harbor  along  the  north  bank  of  the 
Tamsui  River,  we  soon  reached  the  ferry  and  crossed  to  the 
opposite  shore.  Our  shoes  were  off,  and  stowed  away  in  the 
carriers'  baskets.  With  feet  bare  and  trousers  rolled  up  to 
the  knees,  we  sprung  from  the  ferry-boat  to  the  shining  sand. 
It  was  a  glorious  morning.  The  tide  was  out,  and  our  path 
lay  along  the  sandy  flats,  left  clean  and  cool  by  the  receding 
waters.  All  were  in  high  glee.  Soon  we  struck  the  trail, 
that  wound  inland  among  little  rice-fields,  and  in  an  hour  or 
two  were  on  the  high  plateau.  The  scenery  was  charming. 
Here  and  there  were  groves  of  fir,  and  around  an  occasional 
farm-house  waved  the  tall  bamboo.  It  was  early  spring,  and 
the  grassy  sward  was  decked  with  innumerable  dandelions, 
violets,  and  other  wild  flowers.  The  air  was  vocal  with  the 
sweet  song  of  the  sky-lark  singing  clear  up  against  the  blue. 
We  descended  into  a  large  rice-plain  and  soon  reached  the 
public  road.  Toward  evening  we  arrived  at  Tiong-lek,  a 
town  of  about  four  thousand  population,  and  got  quarters  for 
the  night  at  the  best  inn.     It  was  on  the  main  street,  a  low, 


FIRST  VIEWS   OF  FORM  OS  si  35 

one-story  building  of  sun-dried  bricks.  This  was  my  first  ex- 
perience in  a  Formosan  inn.  Our  room  was  small,  allowing 
no  space  for  anything  but  the  three  beds  it  contained.  There 
was  no  stand,  table,  or  chair.  The  beds  were  of  planks  with 
legs  of  bricks,  and,  instead  of  springs  and  bedclothes,  had 
each  a  dirty  grass  mat,  upon  which  coolies  had  smoked  opium 
for  years.  There  was  no  window  or  other  opening  to  the 
fresh  air.  The  glimmer  that  came  from  a  pith-wick  in  a 
saucer  of  peanut-oil  revealed  the  black,  damp  earth  floor,  the 
walls  besmeared  and  mouldy ;  and  crawling  everywhere  were 
three  generations  of  creatures  whose  presence  did  not  add 
to  the  "  barbarians'  "  comfort.  A  stupefying  smell  of  opium- 
smoking,  the  odor  of  pigs  wallowing  in  filth  at  the  door,  and 
the  noisome  fetor  of  the  whole  establishment  were  almost  too 
much  for  my  unaccustomed  senses,  and  I  thought  surely  my 
companions  were  giving  me  a  "  strong  dose."  I  soon  learned, 
however,  that  the  inn  at  Tiong-lek  was  regarded  as  first-class, 
and  in  some  respects  excelled  any  I  afterward  saw  anywhere 
in  Formosa.  We  came  to  regard  it  as  the  "  Queen's  Hotel." 
Other  inns  make  no  arrangement  for  meals  or  feeding  travel- 
ers, but  this  one  had  in  the  open  court  an  "  earthen  range  " 
for  the  use  of  travelers,  and  an  open  room  with  a  table,  two 
chairs,  and  a  bench.  Many  a  time  have  I  been  grateful  for 
that  "range"  upon  which  to  cook  our  food,  and  that  room 
in  which  to  eat  it.  To  be  sure,  the  floor  was  earth,  and  the 
hens  and  ducks  had  easy  access,  and  the  pigs  grunted  indoors 
and  out ;  but  it  was  the  most  homelike  place  we  ever  found  in 
any  public  house  in  all  our  travels  on  the  island. 

Leaving  Tiong-lek,  the  road  ascended  to  an  upland,  the 
edge  of  which,  called  Table  Hill,  three  hundred  feet  high, 
overlooked  a  rich  plain  with  many  little  farms.  The  houses 
were  encircled  by  bamboo,  which  gave  the  whole  place  the 
appearance  of  a  waving  forest.  Descending  by  stone  steps, 
we  passed  through  the  fields  and  bamboo-plantations,  and  in 


36  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

the  evening  entered  the  walled  city  of  Tek-chham,  with  its 
forty  thousand  inhabitants.  That  night  we  spent  in  an  inn 
compared  with  which  the  one  at  Tiong-lek  was  palatial.  Next 
day  we  passed  small  fields  of  barley  and  wheat,  and  trudged 
over  the  weary  sand-dunes,  and  at  night  were  grateful  for  the 
grass  hut  at  the  halting-place  for  coolies,  where  the  inevitable 
pig,  with  her  swarm  of  little  ones,  took  up  her  headquarters 
under  our  bed. 

Next  day  Mr.  Ritchie  succumbed  to  malaria.  He  had 
been  in  Formosa  only  four  years,  but  his  system  was  honey- 
combed by  the  poison,  and  that  day  he  had  to  take  the  sedan- 
chair.  The  dirty  walled  town  of  Tai-kah  was  next  reached, 
and  our  path  lay  over  a  low  piece  of  country  toward  Toa-sia, 
an  inland  Pe-po-hoan  village.  We  were  now  within  the  terri- 
tory of  the  English  Presbyterian  Mission,  and  at  Toa-sia  there 
was  a  small  chapel  and  a  number  of  converts.  They  had 
been  advised  of  our  approach,  and  about  fifty  of  them  came 
out  to  meet  us.  They  received  us  with  great  joy,  for  only 
once  before  had  a  Christian  missionary  ever  visited  them.  We 
stayed  there  nearly  a  week.  On  the  Lord's  day  the  chapel 
was  crowded  with  eager  Pe-po-hoan  worshipers,  and  many 
Chinese  from  a  neighboring  town  were  attracted  by  the  strange 
"  barbarians."  Our  next  move  was  to  Lai-sia,  a  Pe-po-hoan 
village  not  far  away,  where  we  remained  until  the  next  Sab- 
bath, when  we  returned  to  Toa-sia.  On  Monday  we  started 
out  for  Po-sia,  a  Pe-po-hoan  settlement  within  savage  territory, 
far  in  among  the  mountains.  No  white  man  had  ever  been 
in  that  plain.  Many  of  its  inhabitants  had  moved  in  from 
Toa-sia,  and  now  fifty-five  of  their  relatives  accompanied  us 
on  our  journey.  They  provided  themselves  with  food  for  the 
way.  The  men  carried  knives  at  their  belts,  and  a  few  match- 
locks, fearing  the  mountain  tribes,  who  regarded  them  as 
traitors.  The  first  night  we  spent  in  the  woods.  The  fires 
were  kindled  and  burned  all  night. 


FIRST   VIEWS   OF  FORMOSA  37 

The  entrance  to  Po-sia  was  through  a  narrow  pass  made 
by  some  volcanic  eruption  among  the  rocks.  At  places  the 
pass  was  not  more  than  six  feet  wide,  with  the  perpendicular 
walls  of  rock  on  either  hand  two  hundred  feet  high. 

On  Tuesday  we  emerged  into  a  plain  six  miles  long  and 
five  miles  wide,  completely  inclosed  by  densely  wooded 
mountains.  This  was  the  Po-sia  plain,  and  here  lived  six 
thousand  Pe-po-hoan.  At  the  edge  of  the  rocks  we  were  met 
by  an  outlook  party  that  had  been  sent  to  wrelcome  us,  and 
on  the  way  had  been  hunting  the  wild  boar.  There  was  great 
jubilation  when  friends  met  friends.  They  gave  us  an  ova- 
tion, and  as  we  did  not  wear  the  cue  they  called  us  their 
kinsmen.  That  night  a  great  ox  was  killed,  and  a  powwow 
of  huge  dimensions  was  held  to  celebrate  our  coming.  They 
sang  their  wild  chanting  songs  and  awakened  the  echoes 
among  the  mountains.  We  remained  there  for  over  a  week. 
Mr.  Ritchie  held  service  every  evening,  and  on  Sunday  a 
great  crowd  assembled.  There  was  no  church  there,  nor  had 
the  gospel  been  preached  there  before,  but  here  was  illustrated 
the  self-propagating  power  of  Christianity.  Some  of  these 
Pe-po-hoan  had  heard  the  truth  at  the  English  Presbyterian 
chapels  in  the  south,  and,  according  to  Christ's  command- 
ment, had  returned  to  their  homes  to  show  how  great  things 
the  Lord  had  done  for  them. 

We  returned  to  Toa-sia,  and  there  we  parted,  Ritchie  and 
Dickson  continuing  their  journey  to  Tai-wan-fu,  and  I  with 
one  Chinese  started  back  for  Tamsui.  I  returned  by  another 
route  and  reached  Tamsui  on  April  6th,  after  an  absence  of 
twenty-three  days.  Here  began  my  work,  alone,  without  an 
interpreter,  and  among  those  who  hated  and  despised  the 
"barbarian."  What  I  had  already  picked  up  of  the  Chinese 
language  I  must  now  utilize  or  submit  to  being  imposed  upon. 
After  four  days  I  succeeded  in  renting  a  Chinese  house  that  was 
intended  to  be  used  for  a  horse-stable  by  military  mandarins. 


3$  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

For  this  building  I  agreed  to  pay  fifteen  dollars  per  month.  It 
was  a  filthy  place.  A  steep  hill  being  dug  out  furnished  the 
site,  and  the  road  around  separated  it  from  the  river.  Situated 
as  it  was,  it  could  not  be  healthy  at  any  time.  In  the  dry  sea- 
son the  atmosphere  was  hot  and  oppressive,  and  when  the  rains 
came  the  water  streamed  down  the  sloping  hill  and  ran  through 
the  building  across  the  floor  into  the  river  in  front.  One  room 
was  floored  with  unplaned  boards,  another  with  tiles,  and  the 
others  with  nature's  black  soil.  I  moved  into  my  new  home 
with  all  my  furniture — two  pine  boxes.  The  British  consul, 
Alexander  Frater,  Esq.,  lent  me  a  chair  and  bed  ;  a  Chinese,  Tan 
Ah  Soon,  gave  me  an  old  pewter  lamp ;  and  I  employed  a 
mason  to  whitewash  the  whole  establishment.  It  was  thor- 
oughly cleaned,  portions  of  the  walls  hidden  with  newspapers, 
and  openings  curtained  with  red  cotton.  In  full  possession  of 
this  retreat,  here  is  the  record  entered  in  my  diary  under  the 
date  of  April  10,  1872  :  "  Here  I  am  in  this  house,  having  been 
led  all  the  way  from  the  old  homestead  in  Zorra  by  Jesus,  as 
direct  as  though  my  boxes  were  labeled,  '  Tamsui,  Formosa, 
China.'  Oh,  the  glorious  privilege  to  lay  the  foundation  of 
Christ's  church  in  unbroken  heathenism!  God  help  me  to  do 
this  with  the  open  Bible!  Again  I  swear  allegiance  to  thee,  O 
King  Jesus,  my  Captain.     So  help  me,  God!" 


THE  ISLAND 


39 


CHAPTER    V 


GEOGRAPHY    AND    HISTORY 


Position — Climate — Rainfall — Depression — Malaria — First  attack  of  fever 
— Struck  by  a  typhoon — A  cloud-burst — Historical  sketch — "  Ilha 
formosa  ! " 

THE  island  of  Formosa  lies  off  the  east  coast  of  China, 
opposite  the  Fu-kien  province.  It  is  separated  from  the 
mainland  by  the  Formosa  Channel,  which  varies  in  breadth 
from  eighty  to  two  hundred  miles.  On  the  northeast  and 
southeast  the  island  is  washed  by  the  waters  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  It  is  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  north  to 
south.  The  average  breadth  is  about  fifty  miles.  It  contains 
an  area  of  about  fifteen  thousand  square  miles,  being  about 
one  half  the  size  of  Ireland.  Forest-clad  mountain-ranges  at- 
taining the  height  of  from  seven  thousand  to  fifteen  thousand 
feet  run  through  the  center  from  north  to  south,  and  from  their 
bases  extends  a  broad  stretch  of  lowlands,  plateau  and  ravines. 
This  plain  is  drained  by  three  large  streams  which  run  into  the 
Tamsui  River.  Precipitous  cliffs  from  three  thousand  to  six 
thousand  feet,  clothed  with  vegetation  except  on  the  sea-face, 
with  two  large  and  many  small  plains,  which  are  silted  inlets, 
compose  the  eastern  side  of  North  Formosa. 

Formosa  is  under  tropical  conditions.  It  lies  between 
2o°  58'  and  2 50  15'  north  latitude  and  1200  and  1220  east 
longitude.  The  Tropic  of  Cancer  runs  through  it  not  far  from 
the  center,  so  that  only  the  south  is  really  within  the  tropics. 

41 


42  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

On  account  of  its  position  and  the  altitude  of  its  mountains 
there  is  a  considerable  variety  of  climate,  not  only  in  that  part 
that  lies  within  the  tropics,  but  also  in  the  north. 

The  climate  of  North  Formosa  is  excessively  trying  to 
foreigners.  Those  who  have  traveled  in  the  Orient  will  under- 
stand that  statement,  but  to  the  average  Westerner  it  will  be 
meaningless.  In  fact,  it  cannot  be  fully  comprehended  save 
by  those  who  have  spent  a  number  of  years  in  such  a  climate. 
From  January  to  December  flowers  are  in  bloom  and  the 
whole  country  is  green.  Foliage  is  renewed  as  fast  as  it  de- 
cays. We  have  no  frost  or  snow,  and  those  accustomed  to 
invigorating  atmosphere  cannot  understand  how  at  times  in 
Formosa  we  long  for  just  one  breath  of  the  clear,  crisp  air  of 
a  frosty  winter  morning.  About  once  a  year  we  do  get  a 
glimpse  of  the  snow's  refreshing  whiteness,  but  it  is  only  a 
glimpse,  for  it  lies  on  the  top  of  the  highest  mountains,  and 
around  Tamsui  remains  only  a  few  days. 

March,  April,  and  May  may  be  called  our  spring  season. 
June,  July,  August,  and  part  of  September  are  very  hot,  and 
the  months  most  dreaded,  because,  although  the  temperature 
varies  from  forty-two  to  one  hundred  degrees  at  Tamsui  and 
Kelung,  yet  on  account  of  the  weight  of  moisture  carried  by 
the  atmosphere  the  heat  is  much  more  oppressive  and  enervat- 
ing than  in  other  and  drier  regions  of  South  China.  In  August 
and  September  the  tropical  storms  and  typhoons  come,  which 
help  to  clear  the  air.  October  and  November  generally  bring 
delightful  weather  in  the  north.  About  the  end  of  December 
our  rainy  season  sets  in,  and  continues  through  January  and 
February.  It  is  rain,  rain,  rain,  to-day,  to-morrow,  and  the 
next  day ;  this  week,  next  week,  and  the  week  after ;  wet  and 
wind  without,  damp  and  mould  within.  Often  for  weeks  to- 
gether we  rarely  get  a  glimpse  of  the  sun.  All  the  year  around 
we  have  to  fight  against  depression  of  spirits,  and  say  over  to 
ourselves  as  cheerfully  as  possible : 


GEOGRAPHY  AND   HISTORY  43 

"  Be  still,  sad  heart,  and  cease  repining; 

Behind  the  clouds  is  the  sun  still  shining." 


Not  only  during  the  rainy  season,  but  almost  any  time 
throughout  the  year,  we  may  expect  heavy  floating  clouds  to 
be  arrested  by  the  mountains  and  to  empty  themselves  into 
the  plains.  Especially  is  this  the  case  during  the  northeast 
monsoon.  As  the  warm  waters  of  the  Japanese  "  Black 
Stream  "  sweep  northerly  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Formosa, 
vapors  ascend  and  are  driven  toward  the  island,  there  to  be- 
come heavy  clouds,  which  condense,  touch  the  mountain-tops, 
and  torrents  of  rain  result.  This  accounts  for  the  heavier  rain 
on  the  eastern  than  on  the  western  side.  During  the  south- 
west monsoon,  however,  the  wTind  drives  these  vapors  away 
from  the  northern  part  of  the  island,  and  then  we  have  our 
finest  weather. 

Keeping  in  view  the  dampness  of  Formosa  and  the  power- 
ful influence  of  the  broiling  tropical  sun,  it  will  be  easily  under- 
stood that  growth  is  very  rapid.  Scarcely  a  barren  spot  is  to 
be  seen.  The  rocks  are  clad  in  moss  and  festooned  with 
vines;  the  very  trees  in  their  wild  state  are  covered  with 
creepers.  But  if  growth  is  rapid,  so  is  decay,  and  hence 
man's  deadliest  foe — malarial  fever.  This  is  the  blackest 
cloud  that  hangs  longest  over  our  beautiful  island.  Because 
of  it  disease  and  death  work  terrible  havoc  among  the  inhabi- 
tants. Almost  every  form  of  disease  is  directly  traced  to  this 
one  source.  Seldom  do  three  months  elapse  without  one  or 
more  members  of  every  household  being  laid  low.  In  the  hot 
season  the  natives  are  suddenly  attacked,  and  in  many  cases 
succumb  in  a  few  hours.  The  bacteria  of  Asiatic  cholera  and 
malarial  fever,  carried  on  the  wind,  sweep  over  the  country 
like  a  deathful  pestilence.  Sometimes  the  fatal  effects  of  the 
climate  do  not  appear  for  many  months ;  but  they  manifest 
themselves  so  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  that  the  physician 


44  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

has  little  chance  to  save  life.  Therefore  we  have  often  been 
called  to  follow  the  beloved  members  of  our  little  community 
to  the  grassy  resting-place  out  on  the  hill. 

My  first  attack  of  fever  was  exactly  one  year  after  my 
arrival  on  the  island.  I  had  been  on  an  extended  tour  with 
Captain  Bax  of  her  Majesty's  man-of-war.  We  penetrated 
far  into  the  mountains,  and  were  for  a  considerable  time  in 
savage  territory.  Bax,  although  strong  and  healthy  when  we 
set  out,  had  to  be  carried  back  in  a  sedan-chair.  On  return- 
ing to  Tamsui  I  found  my  rooms  chilly,  damp,  and  mouldy. 
While  I  was  absent  the  place  was  not  occupied,  and  when  I 
returned  and  lay  down  to  sleep  I  became  cold  as  ice,  shook 
and  trembled  like  an  aspen-leaf,  my  teeth  chattering  so  loudly 
that  A  Hoa  heard  it  in  an  outer  apartment.  He  came  to  my 
relief  and  remained  at  my  bedside  the  whole  night.  As  there 
was  no  fireplace  in  the  building,  it  was  impossible  to  get 
warmed.  Heavy  doses  of  quinine  broke  the  fever,  but  my 
system  was  not  free  from  it  for  years.  Many  times,  on  trips 
among  churches  and  in  the  mountains,  have  the  mats  under 
me  been  wet  with  perspiration  during  the  hot  stage  of  the 
disease. 

Personal  experience  has  convinced  me  that  but  few  for- 
eigners can  resist  the  enervating  influence  of  the  climate  in 
Formosa,  and  hence  I  have  pleaded  for  a  native  ministry  to 
carry  on  the  work  of  the  mission.  If  European  merchants  in 
their  well-built  houses  in  Tamsui  or  Kelung  find  it  impossible 
to  maintain  their  health,  what  would  become  of  them  had  they 
to  live  in  Chinese  houses  on  the  east  coast,  or  be  exposed  to 
the  wind  and  weather  in  inland  traveling? 

The  position  and  topography  of  Formosa  expose  it  to  the 
dreadful  typhoon  which  sweeps  across  the  Malay  Archipelago, 
over  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  then  northward  to  Japan,  tak- 
ing Formosa  in  its  course.  The  name  is  from  the  Chinese  ta- 
fung  or  "  great  wind."    The  intense  heat  in  southern  latitudes 


GEOGRAPHY  AND  HISTORY  45 

conspires  with  other  causes  to  produce  this  fearful  outbreak 
of  the  elements,  that  results  every  year  in  untold  loss  of  life 
and  property.  As  the  main  path  of  the  typhoon  is  along  the 
Chinese  sea-coast,  the  greatest  destruction  is  on  the  ships  and 
islands.  Trees  are  torn  up  by  the  roots,  buildings  are  swept 
a  way  like  chaff,  great  ships  are  broken  to  pieces  or  lifted  from 
their  anchorage  and  deposited  elsewhere,  and  thousands  of 
lives  are  lost.  My  first  experience  was  in  1874,  when  the 
great  typhoon  swept  over  the  land.  I  was  hurrying  alone 
from  Kelung  to  Bang-kah.  I  came  to  a  deep  stream,  and  was 
feeling  my  way  across  a  narrow  plank  bridge,  when  a  great 
roar  was  heard,  and  before  I  reached  the  opposite  bank  the 
typhoon  broke.  I  was  hurled  headlong  through  the  darkness 
into  the  mud  and  water  below.  How  I  regained  the  slippery 
bank  and  made  my  way  through  the  storm-swept  bamboo  and 
along  the  narrow  winding  path  I  cannot  tell.  It  was  nearly 
midnight  when  I  reached  Bang-kah,  and  right  glad  I  was  to 
find  some  shelter  with  the  students  there.  That  night  a  Brit- 
ish merchant  steamer  bound  for  Tamsui  was  struck  outside  the 
Kelung  harbor,  and  in  the  morning  only  the  fragments  of  a 
wreck  could  be  seen.  Nearly  all  on  board  were  lost,  and  now 
on  a  rock  a  white  marble  cross  commemorates  their  loss. 

Some  years  afterward,  with  Sun-a,  one  of  my  students,  I  was 
traveling  to  Kelung.  When  on  the  last  mountain  we  looked 
seaward  across  the  harbor,  and  behold !  a  black  wall  stood  be- 
tween the  troubled  sea  and  the  lowering  heavens.  Thousands 
of  sea-gulls  were  pressing  forward  with  long,  loud  cries.  We 
understood  the  signs  and  made  all  haste.  Just  as  we  were 
entering  the  town,  with  one  indescribable  roar  the  storm  burst. 
First  a  few  drops  of  rain,  then  the  wind  loosened  and  the  tor- 
rents fell.  Every  living  creature  sought  refuge.  We  rushed 
into  a  half-finished  hut,  and  were  companions  in  distress  with 
a  number  of  black  pigs.  There  we  stayed  the  whole  night, 
listening  to  the  fury  of  the  terrific  gales  and  surging  waves. 


46  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

Early  in  the  morning  we  looked  out  to  see  the  streets  two  feet 
deep  in  the  water,  gardens  and  rice-fields  flooded,  and  every- 
where marks  of  destruction  and  loss. 

Turning  now  to  the  history  of  Formosa,  we  find  many  of 
the  annals  untrustworthy,  being  both  inaccurate  and  fanciful. 
The  Chinese  claim  to  have  sent  an  envoy  to  the  island  during 
the  Suy  dynasty,  which  was  overthrown  in  620  a.d.  This 
claim  is  entirely  probable.  With  junks,  such  as  the  Chinese 
possessed  hundreds  of  years  ago,  it  is  not  credible  that  they 
could  sail  through  the  Formosa  Channel  year  after  year  with- 
out seeing  the  island  and  touching  it  somewhere.  The  first 
Europeans  to  visit  Formosa  were  Portuguese,  who  settled 
there  in  1590.  The  Dutch  landed  in  1624,  and  two  years 
later  were  followed  by  the  Spaniards.  The  Dutch  expelled 
the  Spaniards  in  1642,  and  they  themselves  were  driven  out  by 
Koxinga,  the  famous  Chinese  pirate.  Koxinga  was  loyal  to 
the  Ming  dynasty,  and  when  the  Tartars  came  down  from 
Manchuria,  and  Sun-ti  was  proclaimed  emperor,  Koxinga  re- 
fused to  submit  to  the  usurper.  He  continued  to  molest  the 
coast  to  such  a  degree  that  in  1665  the  emperor  ordered  all  the 
people  to  retire  nine  miles  in  and  to  escape  Koxinga's  grasp. 
One  might  suppose  that  an  emperor  strong  enough  to  secure 
such  obedience  from  his  subjects  might  easily  have  defended 
his  maritime  provinces  against  attack ;  but  such  is  Chinese 
strength  and  weakness.  Having  thus  failed  to  reach  the  sub- 
jects of  the  empire,  Koxinga  crossed  the  channel,  drove  the 
Dutch  out  of  Formosa,  and  proclaimed  himself  first  king  of 
the  island.  His  reign  was  brief  and  stormy,  and  in  1683  his 
successors  were  dethroned  by  the  Chinese  emperor  and  For- 
mosa made  a  dependency  of  the  Fu-kien  province.  In  1874 
the  Japanese  invaded  the  eastern  part  of  the  island,  but  left 
immediately  after  the  Chinese  government  made  reparation 
for  the  loss  sustained  by  the  Japanese  junks  that  had  been  at- 
tacked by  the  savages.     In  1887  Formosa  first  became  a  sepa- 


GEOGRAPHY  AND  HISTORY  47 

rate  province  of  the  Chinese  empire.  In  1894  war  broke  out 
between  China  and  Japan,  and  at  its  close  the  island  of  For- 
mosa was  ceded  to  Japan  and  is  now  under  the  flag  of  the 
"  Rising  Sun." 

The  aboriginal  or  Malayan  name  of  the  island  was  Pekan 
or  Pekando.  In  1430  the  Chinese  named  it  Ki-lung-shan 
("  Mountain  of  Kelung"),  and  the  best  port  in  the  north  still 
retains  that  name.  Subsequently  they  called  it  Tai-wan  ("  Ter- 
raced Harbor  "),  and  by  that  name  it  is  known  to  all  Chinese  to 
this  day  ;  and  the  capital  of  the  island  was  therefore  called  Tai- 
wan-fu  ("  capital  city  of  Tai-wan  ").  "  Formosa  "  is  a  Portu- 
guese word.  It  is  a  descriptive  name  meaning  "  beautiful,"  and 
was  first  applied  to  the  settlement  at  Kelung  in  1590.  Sailing 
along  the  east  coast,  their  brave  voyagers,  sighting  the  green- 
clad  mountains  with  peaks  piercing  the  scattered  clouds,  cas- 
cades glimmering  like  silver  in  the  tropical  sunlight,  and 
terraced  plains  waving  with  feathery  bamboo,  exclaimed  with 
glad  surprise,  "Ilha  formosa,  ilha  formosa!"  ("Beautiful  isle, 
beautiful  isle! "). 


CHAPTER    VI 


GEOLOGY 


Formosan  natural  history  unwritten — A  great  subsidence — The  island 
given  back — Geological  formation — Minerals  found — Physical  changes 
— Earthquakes — Loss  and  compensation — The  eternal  Refuge. 

THE  natural  history  of  Formosa  is  as  yet  an  unwritten 
book.  Even  in  the  best  authorities  information  is 
meager  and  unreliable.  Anything  pretending  to  be  Chinese 
science  is  empirical  and  must  be  carefully  sifted ;  and  foreign 
scientists  have  done  little  personal  investigation  on  the  island. 
But  the  subject  was  too  important  and  too  interesting  to  be 
neglected,  and  so  in  all  our  travels,  establishing  churches  and 
exploring  in  the  savage  territory,  I  carried  with  me  my  geologi- 
cal hammer,  chisel,  and  lens,  and  brought  back  on  nearly  every 
occasion  some  valuable  contribution  to  my  museum  at  Tam- 
sui.  I  ever  sought  to  train  my  students  to  have  eyes  to  see 
and  minds  to  understand  nature's  great  message  in  sea  and 
grove  and  mountain  gorge.  In  the  hope  that  readers  may  be 
interested  without  being  burdened  I  shall  set  down  here  only 
sufficient  to  convey  a  general  idea  of  the  formations,  deposits, 
and  contents  of  the  mountains  and  plains,  and  refer  briefly  to 
the  influences  and  agencies  at  work  in  modifying  the  topog- 
raphy of  the  island. 

Formosa  is  a  continental  island  which  became  separated 
from  the  mainland  of  China  by  the  subsidence  of  the  interven- 
ing land  some  time  during  the  Tertiary  period,  and  similar  sub- 


Geological  Map 

OF 

NORTH  FORMOSA- 

l]  Sulphur  (uw§k 

.  Go/a.  "  JT 

Aed  earth  or  c/ay. 


'e  compounds  Gray- 

7rwr&3ff  rociii 


GEOLOGY  49 

sidences  have  taken  place  all  along  the  Chinese  seaboard. 
Beginning  at  the  south  point  of  Kamtchatka  Peninsula,  and 
embracing  the  Kurile,  Japan,  Loo-choo,  Philippine,  Borneo, 
Java,  and  Sumatra  islands,  we  have  Formosa  about  the  middle 
of  this  line,  which  once  formed  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
Asiatic  continent.  The  Okhotsk,  Japan,  Yellow,  and  China 
seas,  with  the  Formosa  Channel,  cover  the  submerged  lands. 
Formosa  is  still  connected  with  the  mainland  by  a  bank  sub- 
merged to  the  maximum  depth  of  one  hundred  fathoms.  This 
is,  indeed,  the  deepest  sounding  anywhere  near  the  island,  but 
thirty  miles  off  the  eastern  coast  the  soundings  suddenly  fall  to 
the  depth  of  one  thousand  fathoms,  and  going  farther  seaward 
to  two  thousand,  three  thousand,  and  four  thousand  fathoms, 
until  the  dark  unsounded  depths  of  the  Pacific  are  reached. 

There  have  been,  too,  partial  and  total  subsidences  and  ele- 
vations in  the  geological  history  of  the  island,  and  there  are 
evidences  of  a  total  submergence  to  the  depth  of  at  least  one 
hundred  fathoms,  during  which  period  the  coral  insect  built  a 
layer  to  a  considerable  extent  over  its  surface.  Then  came  a 
sudden  upheaval.  The  fierce  energies  within  broke  out  with 
mighty  volcanic  action  amid  the  terrific  thundering  of  nature's 
heavy  artillery.  The  igneous  rocks  were  lifted  to  the  height  of 
fifteen  hundred  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  and  For- 
mosa was  given  back  to  the  light  of  day.  The  coral  was  car- 
ried up  to  these  mountain-peaks  and  then  sent  in  huge  masses 
tumbling  down  the  sides.  Heavy  rains  and  sweeping  storms 
carried  it  as  debris  out  to  sea.  Remains  are  still  found  at  the 
height  of  two  thousand  feet,  and  this,  together  with  the  coral 
reef  whose  arms  are  stretched  out  beneath  the  waters  around 
the  shore,  attests  the  convulsions  and  changes  of  prehistoric 
times. 

The  rocks  of  the  island  consist  principally  of  sandstone, 
slate,  graystone,  gneiss,  limestone,  shale,  granite  and  trappean 
compounds,  basalt,  clinkstone,   coal,   and  coralline.     In   the 


50  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

northern,  northeastern,  and  western  sides  there  are  ferru- 
ginous, argillaceous,  gritty,  and  silicious  sandstones,  inter- 
mingled with  carboniferous  quartzite  and  solid  schistose  rock. 
The  eastern  precipitous  cliffs  exhibit  beautiful  contorted  gneiss 
and  graystone  masses.  The  curves  and  flexures  in  the  lines  of 
stratification  are  marked  with  wonderful  distinctness.  Around 
So  Bay,  on  the  eastern  coast,  and  extending  south  and  north, 
pyritiferous  slate  is  dominant.  The  iron  pyrites  are  very  abun- 
dant in  the  entire  formation.  Gray,  brown,  and  reddish  shales 
are  common  in  the  northern  parts.  Mica-schist  and  micaceous 
sandstone  alternate  with  gneiss,  and  appear  contorted,  dis- 
placed, and  filled  with  lodes  of  quartz,  varying  from  one  eighth 
of  an  inch  to  several  inches,  which  ran  through  the  fissures 
when  the  mass  was  in  a  molten  state.  Massive  limestone  of 
bluish-gray  color  is  found  with  shales  and  gritty  sandstones. 
On  the  right  bank  of  the  Kelung  River,  near  Pat-chien-na, 
there  is  an  interesting  formation  of  quartzose  sandstone,  com- 
posed of  quartz-grains  colored  with  iron  oxide.  It  was  evi- 
dently carried  by  the  waters  through  the  valley  and  deposited 
along  the  flanks  of  volcanic  rocks  which  were  vomited  as 
molten  material  long  before  the  now  valuable  quarry  became 
cemented  into  hard  rock.  Tai-tun  range  is  itself  a  mass  of 
dark-blue  igneous  rock,  with  an  extinct  crater  twenty-five 
hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  high  on  the  southwest  side. 
Quan-yin  Mountain  is  of  the  same  material,  and  is  extensively 
quarried  and  dressed  for  door-steps,  lintels,  pillars,  and  the 
foundations  of  buildings.  Already  such  rocks  are  called  quan- 
yin  stone  by  natives. 

Coal  is  known  to  abound  in  two  thirds  of  the  island,  and  it 
is  more  than  probable  that  seams  of  different  depths  extend  the 
whole  distance  from  north  to  south.  The  best-known  mines 
are  at  Poeh-tau,  near  Kelung.  It  is  all  bituminous,  and  is  so 
dislocated  by  upheavals  and  convulsions  that  the  strata  are  full 
of  faults  and  fissures,  which  render  the  work  less  remunerative 


GEOLOGY  51 

than  it  might  otherwise  be.  Europeans  employed  by  a  gov- 
ernor sank  a  shaft,  but  there  was  so  much  blasting  and  cutting 
of  sandstone  that  it  has  never  been  a  profitable  enterprise. 
Natives  start  at  the  outcrop  at  the  side  of  a  hill,  following  the 
seam  on  its  incline  ;  they  dig  with  picks,  and  with  a  small  hand- 
sleigh  drag  the  pieces  out.  Opposite  the  Sin-tiam  church  there 
is  a  seam  two  feet  thick,  tilted  almost  perpendicular,  and  there 
it  stands  between  the  equally  dislocated  sandstone  rocks. 
Lignite  occurs  in  a  few  sandstone  ranges  on  the  western 
slopes. 

Petroleum  is  found  at  several  points  between  West  Peak  and 
Au-lang.  At  the  seaside  I  took  up  a  bottleful  and  kept  it  for 
ten  years.  It  appeared  like  olive-oil  and  burned  with  ease, 
giving  a  bright  light.  Two  Americans  from  Pennsylvania  were 
employed  by  the  Chinese  to  sink  a  shaft,  but  at  three  hundred 
feet  the  drills  broke  and  the  enterprise  was  abandoned. 

Natural  gas  is  obtained  in  several  localities,  and  one  has 
only  to  remove  the  black  soil  to  the  depth  of  a  foot  or  two, 
strike  a  match,  and  in  an  instant  the  whole  will  be  ablaze. 

Salt. — Rock-salt  has  not  been  found  in  the  island,  but  the 
aborigines  in  the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain  have  a  process  by  which 
they  extract  the  salt  from  the  sea-water.  Large  quantities  of 
the  water  are  poured  over  the  hot  sand  on  the  beach  until  for 
an  inch  or  two  in  depth  it  becomes  thoroughly  impregnated. 
This  sand  is  then  collected  into  a  large  iron  leach-tub,  to  which 
heat  is  applied,  and  into  which  more  sea-water  is  poured. 
The  water,  percolating,  carries  the  salt  with  it,  and  when 
evaporated  a  beautiful  white  salt  remains. 

Sulphur  is  found  in  great  abundance,  especially  in  the 
north.  The  best  springs  are  at  Kang-tau,  near  the  Kelung 
River.  I  visited  them  in  October,  1872.  That  was  the  first 
time  I  had  seen  so  strange  a  sight.  Descending  from  the 
height  overlooking  the  Bang-kah  plain,  we  found  a  winding 
path,  along  which  we  hurried  up  the  valley  till  we  reached  the 


52  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

springs.  The  ground,  as  we  approached,  resounded  to  our 
feet  like  the  rumbling  of  distant  thunder.  The  narrow  valley 
was  a  place  of  interest  and  beauty.  A  score  of  springs  boiling 
and  roaring,  hissing  like  a  great  Mogul  engine,  sent  up  clouds 
of  steam  and  poured  out  volumes  of  hot  sulphur-water.  The 
sides  of  the  boulders  and  the  lips  of  the  crevices  were  all 
flaked  with  beautiful  golden-colored  sulphur.  A  bath  at  any 
temperature  could  easily  be  obtained,  but  the  Formosans  know 
nothing  about  the  medicinal  properties  of  their  sulphur-springs. 
A  valuable  sulphur  industry  is  carried  on  by  the  government. 
Coolies  are  employed  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  springs,  dig- 
ging up  raw  material,  a  lava-like  substance,  grayish  in  color. 
When  this  is  melted  in  huge  pans  the  sulphur  comes  to  the 
surface,  the  sediment,  when  hard,  being  a  beautiful  specimen 
of  igneous  rock.  There  is  another  region,  northeast  by  north, 
with  solfatara  springs ;  but  by  far  the  largest  spring  is  seaward 
from  Vulcan's  Peak,  fifty-six  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high, 
on  the  way  to  Kim-pau-li.  There  it  is  hissing,  roaring,  and 
bellowing,  like  tons  of  blazing  oil  in  a  seething  caldron. 
Sea-captains  often  mistake  Vulcan's  Peak  for  an  active  volcano. 
In  from  Sin-tiam,  within  the  mountains,  there  is  a  region  where 
the  fires  became  extinct  less  than  one  hundred  years  ago. 

Iron  in  some  form  must  exist  in  the  interior  of  the  island,  for 
at  the  sea-shore  one  can  easily  fill  a  cup  with  hematite  of  iron 
by  dipping  a  magnet  and  collect  ng  the  particles  adhering  to  it. 
There  are  also  chalybeate  springs  along  the  bases  of  many  hills 
and  mountains. 

Gold  was  discovered  in  1890  by  a  Chinese  workman  who 
had  been  in  California  and  Australia,  and  who  was  engaged  in 
excavating  for  the  erection  of  a  railway-bridge  over  the  Kelung 
River.  Reports  of  this  fact  having  been  circulated,  multitudes 
were  soon  attracted  to  the  place,  and  were  from  daylight  to 
dark  digging  for  the  precious  metal.  Gold-bearing  rocks  in  the 
interior  are  carboniferous  quartzites,  slaty  and  schistose,  with 


GEOLOGY  53 

lodes  of  quartz.  It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  quantity  procured 
annually,  although  it  must  be  considerable. 

Great  physical  changes  are  continually  taking  place  on  the 
island.  What  was  once  a  large  and  beautiful  lake  is  now  the 
fertile  Bang-kah  plain.  Storms  and  freshets  brought  down 
vegetable  matter  from  the  mountains,  and  the  bottom  of  the 
lake  was  gradually  elevated.  Meanwhile  the  waters  were 
grinding  and  pressing  against  the  spur  that  joined  the  Tai-tun 
and  Quan-yin  mountains,  forming  the  lower  bank  of  the  lake. 
At  some  time  a  violent  earthquake-shock  rent  this  spur,  and 
the  waters  rushed  madly  down  to  the  sea,  leaving  behind 
a  rich  alluvial  plain,  and  cutting  what  is  now  the  channel  of 
the  Tamsui  River. 

Earthquakes  are  very  common  and  do  enormous  damage. 
In  1 89 1  on  one  day  four  shocks  were  felt,  and  a  month  later 
two  more.  Years  ago  at  Kelung  rumbling  sounds  were  heard, 
and  the  waters  of  the  harbor  receded  until  fish  of  all  sizes  were 
left  wriggling  and  floundering  in  the  mud  and  pools.  Women 
and  children  rushed  out  to  secure  such  rare  and  enticing 
prizes,  but  shrieks  from  the  shore  warned  them  of  the  return 
of  the  water.  Back  it  came,  furious  as  a  charge  of  battle, 
overleaping  its  appointed  bounds,  and  sweeping  away  all  the 
houses  in  the  low-lying  land  along  the  shore.  The  story  of  that 
tidal  wave  is  handed  down  as  one  of  the  great  catastrophes  in 
history.  At  Kim-pau-li,  not  many  years  ago,  a  shock  was  felt. 
Rice-fields  suddenly  sank  three  feet,  and  the  sulphurous  water 
rose  and  still  covers  the  place.  Sugar-cane  is  now  cultivated 
in  large  tracts  wrhere  boatmen  plied  their  oars  in  1872,  and  the 
waters  of  the  Tamsui  River  glide  over  places  where  stood  vil- 
lages in  which  I  preached  the  gospel  twenty-three  years  ago. 
Changes  are  taking  place,  too,  all  along  the  shore.  One  might 
suppose  that  the  hard  rocks  on  the  east  coast  would  be  able  to 
resist  all  forces  and  influences.  But  no  ;  tides  and  waves  of  the 
great  Pacific  tunnel,  undermine,  and  wear  away  the  bases  of  the 


54  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

rocks,  till  needles,  stacks,  and  arches  stand  up  to  attest  the  in- 
ward march  of  the  water.  On  the  west  coast,  however,  there 
is  compensation,  for  there  the  land  is  encroaching  fast  upon  the 
sea.  During  heavy  rains  the  rivers  transport  large  quantities  of 
mud,  sand,  and  gravel  from  the  mountains  into  the  Formosa 
Channel,  building  sand-bars,  mud-banks,  and  extensive  shoals, 
as  though  the  island  sought  to  bridge  again  a  pathway  back  to 
the  parent  land. 

What  mighty  changes!  What  resistless  power!  Atmo- 
spheric, organic,  aqueous,  chemical,  and  volcanic  agencies  are 
ever  at  work  lowering  the  mountains,  elevating  the  seas,  chang- 
ing the  face  of  nature.  But  note  it  well :  they  are  blind  and 
mighty  forces,  but  they  are  all  under  control  of  Him  who  lay- 
eth  the  beams  of  his  chambers  -in  the  waters,  who  maketh  the 
clouds  his  chariots,  the  flaming  fire  his  ministers,  who  walketh 
upon  the  wings  of  the  wind,  and  by  whom  the  foundations  of 
the  earth  were  laid  that  it  should  not  be  removed  forever.  We 
will  not  fear  though  the  earth  do  change,  though  the  mountains 
be  carried  into  the  midst  of  the  sea.  The  eternal  God  is  our 
refuge,  and  underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms.  I  will  sing 
unto  the  Lord  as  long  as  I  live;  I  will  sing  praises  unto  my 
God  while  I  have  my  being. 


BOTANICAL  MAP 

OF 

NORTH  FORMOSA. 


CHAPTER   VII 

TREES,    PLANTS,    AND    FLOWERS 

THE  richness  of  the  soil  and  the  humidity  of  the  climate 
conspire  to  produce  a  luxuriant  vegetation  in  Formosa. 
Trees,  plants,  and  flowers  literally  cover  the  ground.  Apart 
from  a  few  exposed  rocks,  the  crevices,  ravines,  and  boulders 
are  overgrown  with  ferns,  plants,  grasses,  and  creepers  of  all 
kinds  and  sizes.  The  trees  are  not  tall,  but  large,  having 
enormous  branches.  The  mountain-sides  are  clothed  from 
top  to  bottom  with  tangled  undergrowth  and  trees  of  every 
possible  shade  of  yellow  and  green.  Reference  will  be  made 
in  this  chapter  to  the  many  varieties  found  in  this  botanical 
garden  of  nature.  For  the  sake  of  brevity  the  names  only  of 
many  common  or  unimportant  plants  and  flowers  are  men- 
tioned. 

I.  Forest-trees 

i.  Shaulam  [Thuya  Formosana)  is  found  in  the  mountains, 
in  rocky  places,  and  upon  the  bare  rock.  It  is  an  excellent 
lumber-tree,  has  a  beautiful  grain,  and  when  varnished  with 
certain  Chinese  preparations  it  takes  on  a  fine  finish  that  re- 
flects objects  like  a  mirror,  and  is  the  best  in  Formosa  for 
cabinet-work.  It  is  nothing  unusual  to  see  boards  and  planks 
of  it  from  two  to  eight  feet  in  breadth. 

2.  Oak  [Qucrcus  ilex),  a  pretty  evergreen,  of  which  there 
are  several  varieties.  It  is  hard  red  wood,  which  is  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  hoe,  ax,  and  adz  handles. 

55 


56  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

3.  Tallow-tree  (Stillingia  azebifera).  The  berry  of  this  tree, 
after  the  covering  falls  off,  is  about  the  size  of  a  pea,  whitish 
in  color,  and  hangs  in  clusters  from  the  branches.  The  tallow 
is  extracted  from  the  berry  by  pressure,  and  is  made  into 
candles,  which,  when  painted  red,  are  used  for  idol-worship, 
especially  in  Buddhistic  temples.  The  leaves  of  the  tree  re- 
semble those  of  the  Canadian  poplar,  but  in  autumn  they  as- 
sume the  red  and  yellow  tints  of  the  soft  maple. 

4.  Mulberry  {Moms  nigra).  This  tree  is  indigenous  and 
grows  everywhere.  An  attempt  was  made  to  establish  a  silk 
industry  on  the  island,  and  the  silkworm  was  introduced. 
But  the  leaves  of  the  mulberry  proved  coarser  than  those  on 
the  mainland,  and  the  raw  silk  being  of  inferior  quality,  the 
enterprise  was  abandoned. 

5.  Fir.  This  is  planted  to  protect  the  tea-plantations  from 
winds  and  storms. 

6.  Pine.  Only  a  few  small  pines  are  found,  and  they  are 
seen  on  the  sides  of  the  mountains. 

7.  Camphor  {Lauras  camphord).  Camphor-trees  are  the 
largest  in  the  forests.  On  measuring  one  I  found  it  twenty- 
five  feet  in  circumference.  There  is  in  my  possession  a  plank 
which  a  hundred  years  ago  was  the  end  of  a  native  chief's 
house.  It  is  a  single  piece  of  more  than  eight  feet  square,  and 
on  it  are  many  aboriginal  carvings.  Camphor-gum  does  not 
run  like  sap  from  the  sugar-maple,  nor  does  it  exude  like  pitch 
from  the  pine.  It  is  procured  in  the  following  way:  An  adz 
half  an  inch  broad,  and  with  a  handle  two  feet  long,  is  used 
as  a  gouge.  With  this  the  roots,  stumps,  and  branches  of  the 
tree  are  chipped.  These  chips  are  collected  and  placed  in  a 
sort  of  covered  steamer  over  boiling  water.  In  due  course 
the  gum  is  distilled,  and  sublimates  on  the  inside  of  the  vessel 
like  hoar-frost.  The  process  of  distilling  is  continued  until  a 
sufficient  quantity  is  collected,  when  it  is  put  up  in  tubs  for 
export.     As  the   demand   is   great   in    European    countries, 


TREES,  PLANTS,  AND  FLOWERS  57 

the  camphor  industry  is  one  of  the  most  important  on  the 
island. 

8.  Paper-plant  [Aralia papyri/era).  The  so-called  rice-paper 
is  made  from  the  pith  of  this  plant.  The  roll  of  pith,  varying 
from  half  an  inch  to  three  inches  in  diameter,  is  cut  into  pieces 
according  to  the  width  of  paper  desired.  It  is  then  placed 
upon  a  very  smooth  tile,  shaped  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of 
a  slate,  with  a  brass  frame  the  thickness  of  the  paper  raised 
above  the  edges.  The  operator,  having  made  the  pith  per- 
fectly smooth  and  cylindrical,  rolls  it  backward  over  the  tile 
with  his  left  hand,  and  with  his  right  pares  it  concentrically 
with  a  long,  sharp,  thick-backed  knife.  The  knife  rests  on 
the  brass  frame,  which  serves  as  a  gauge,  and  is  drawn  steadily 
back  and  forth.  A  beautiful  paper  is  thus  cut,  which  is  used 
in  making  artificial  flowers,  or  is  exported  to  Hong  Kong,  where 
it  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  sun-hats.  Chinese  artists  find 
large  employment  in  painting  cards  of  this  paper,  which  are 
readily  disposed  of  to  European  and  American  tourists. 

9.  Pung-tree  {Liquidambar  Formosana).  This  beautiful  tree 
resembles  soft  maple.  The  leaves,  especially  when  pressed 
between  the  fingers,  are  quite  fragrant. 

10.  Bead-tree  (Mclia  Azedarach).  This  tree  grows  very  rap- 
idly. When  about  a  foot  in  diameter  its  wide-spreading 
branches  and  lovely  lilac  flowers  present  a  picture  very  at- 
tractive to  a  lover  of  nature. 

11.  Banian  (Ficus  Indica).  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  banian  is  a  long-lived  tree.  Of  all  the  several  hundred 
trees  now  in  the  college  grounds  at  Tamsui,  I  planted  every 
one  from  small  branches,  two  inches  through  and  five  or  six 
feet  long.  These  were  cut  from  large  trees  which  survived 
several  centuries  of  tropical  storm.  The  banian  is  an  ever- 
green, with  rootlets  running  from  the  branches,  which,  if  not 
interfered  with,  eventually  reach  the  ground,  take  root,  and 
grow  as  a  support  to  the  tree.     The  process  of  extension  and 


58  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

reduplication  may  go  on  until  the  branches,  supported  by 
their  self-produced  pillars,  cover  a  vast  area,  and  the  original 
tree  becomes  an  evergreen  canopy  under  which  thousands  may 
find  shelter. 

12.  Willow  (Sa/ix).  As  is  to  be  expected,  willows  of  differ- 
ent varieties  are  found  growing  on  the  lowlands  and  on  the 
banks  of  streams. 

13.  Screw-pine  (Pandanus).  The  leaves  of  this  tree  are 
arranged  spirally  in  three  rows,  and  bear  some  resemblance  to 
those  of  the  pineapple ;  thence  the  name  screw-pine.  The 
fruit,  when  ripe,  is  also  similar  in  appearance  to  the  pineapple, 
but  is  not  edible.  These  trees  are  planted  in  the  sandy  dis- 
tricts for  hedges.  The  leaves,  when  withered,  are  used  for 
fuel,  and  the  rootlets,  cut  a  foot  in  length  and  hammered  out, 
are  used  for  brushes. 

14.  Varnish-tree  (Rhus  verniciferd).  The  exudations  from 
this  tree  become  an  excellent  varnish ;  but  it  must  be  used  in 
a  dark  room,  and  the  varnished  article  must  be  left  there  until 
it  is  thoroughly  dry.  It  is  very  poisonous,  and  the  effect  on 
different  persons  is  very  singular.  I  was  once  in  a  cabinet- 
maker's establishment,  remaining  only  a  few  minutes  ;  but  such 
was  the  effect  of  the  varnish-poison  that  for  three  days  after- 
ward my  fingers  were  swollen  to  three  times  their  normal  size, 
my  face  had  a  dropsical  appearance,  and  my  eyelids  could 
scarcely  be  opened.  It  was  not  so  painful,  but  it  was  very 
irritating  and  intensely  disagreeable.  The  natives  now  eat  the 
fruit,  though  doubtless  in  days  gone  by  they  dipped  their 
arrows  in  the  excretion  to  make  them  deadly  weapons. 

15.  Thorn.  This,  as  a  tree,  or  as  a  creeper  along  the 
ground,  with  spines  of  different  lengths,  is  often  met  with  on 
the  hillsides. 

16.  Tree-fern.  This  lovely  plant  is  unsurpassed  in  beauty 
by  even  the  stately  palm.  In  well-sheltered  valleys  it  stands 
fifty  or  sixty  feet  high,  with  fronds  varying  from  ten  to  fifteen 


TREES,  PLANTS,  AND  F LOWERS  59 

feet  in  length.    It  is  used  for  posts,  and  its  wood  is  manufactured 
into  cigar-boxes. 

17.  Rattan  [Calamus  rotang)  is  a  species  of  palm.  It  grows 
from  twelve  to  twenty  feet  high ;  then  it  begins  to  creep  along 
in  a  vine-like  fashion  over  other  plants  and  above  the  branches 
of  trees,  until  it  reaches  fully  five  hundred  feet.  In  pulling  it 
out  the  woodman  often  falls  a  prey  to  the  savage  head-hunter. 
The  exportation  of  rattan  is  an  important  industry. 

18.  Red  bamboo.  This  is  an  ornamental  tree,  with  reddish 
stems  and  leaves,  but  it  does  not  belong  to  the  bamboo  family. 
It  is  a  Draccena  ferrea. 

19.  Betel-nut  (Areca  Catechu).  This  is  an  elegant  tree, 
straight  as  a  rod,  rising  sometimes  to  the  height  of  fifty  feet. 
Leaves  are  found  at  the  top  only.  Its  fruit  is  the  well-known 
betel-nut,  which  is  extensively  used  for  chewing  by  the  Malay- 
ans in  Formosa  and  other  islands,  as  a  kind  of  intoxicant. 
This  nut  is  the  pledge  of  reconciliation.  When  offered  by 
one  and  accepted  by  another,  it  is  understood  that  the  hatchet 
is  buried. 

20.  Betel-pepper  [Chavica  Bet.'e).  This  is  a  creeper  that  is 
often  planted  by  the  aborigines  beside  the  betel-tree,  up  which 
it  is  trained  to  grow.  The  leaf  of  this  creeper  has  a  pleasant 
taste  and  is  much  relished  by  the  native  tribes,  who  chew  it 
all  day  long  with  the  betel-nut  dipped  in  lime.  This  is  a  filthy 
and  injurious  habit. 

21.  Castor-oil  plant  (Ricinus).  There  are  two  species  in  the 
north — the  one  with  green  stems  and  leaves,  the  other,  more 
lovely,  with  purple  branches,  leaves,  and  stems.  Although 
indigenous  and  of  rapid  growth,  the  seeds  from  which  the  oil 
is  produced  are  not  utilized  by  the  people. 

22.  Soap-tree  [Sapindus  Saponaria).  The  fruit  is  about  the 
size  of  marbles,  grayish  in  color,  with  a  kernel  inside.  Savages 
and  others  on  the  border-land  use  it  when  washing  clothes. 
But  the  style  of  washing  is  unique.     Whether  it  be  done  at 


., 


60  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

ponds,  creeks,  or  rivers,  the  garments  are  laid  upon  a  plank 
or  a  flat  stone  at  the  edge  of  the  water.  With  a  stick  two 
inches  thick  and  two  feet  long,  the  garments  are  first  pounded, 
then  rubbed  with  soap-tree  seeds,  turned  over,  and  pounded 
and  rubbed  again  and  again.  When  the  clothes  are  con- 
sidered sufficiently  clean  they  are  given  a  final  rinse  and  taken 
home. 

23.  Chestnut-tree  {Castanea  vulgaris).  This  tree  grows  to 
a  height  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  the  mountains,  and  produces 
fruit  similar  to  that  of  the  same  family  in  America. 

24.  Cedar  {Thuya  orientalis).  These  are  not  large,  and  are 
grown  more  for  the  purpose  of  ornamentation  than  utility. 

25.  Cayenne  pepper  {Capsicum  Sinensc).  "Chilli"  is  the 
Mexican  name  for  all  the  varieties.  That  in  Formosa  is  a 
shrub  two  or  three  feet  high,  is  very  common,  and  the  pods 
are  much  used  for  domestic  purposes. 

26.  Kiu-kiong  {Lagerstramia  Indica).  This  is  a  very  hard, 
firm,  close-grained  wood,  and  is  used  for  seals,  knobs,  and 
other  articles  of  that  nature. 

27.  Wild  mango  {Cerbera  Odollam),  which  grows  to  the 
height  of  twenty  feet,  has  evergreen,  waxy  leaves.  Its  fruit  is 
very  peculiar  and  is  about  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg.  At  first  it 
is  green,  but  afterward  it  becomes  a  beautiful  reddish  pink. 
But  how  deceptive!  Inside  it  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
dry  fiber,  neither  useful  nor  ornamental. 

28.  Pho-chhiu  (Ce/tis  Sinensis).  This  tree  resembles  the 
peach,  but  its  wood,  which  is  soft  and  white,  is  not  valuable 
as  timber. 

II.  Fruits  and  Fruit  trees 

1.  Longan  (Aref>/ie/ium  Longanum).  This  is  about  the  size 
of  a  cherry,  with  a  thin,  bark-like  rind.  Within  that  rind 
there  is  a  pulp  which  is  edible,  and  in  the  center  a  kernel, 
black  outside  and  white  within. 


TREES,  PLANTS,  AND  FLOWERS  61 

2.  Loquat  [Eryobotrya  Japonicd),  This  is  a  yellow,  juicy 
fruit,  with  a  kernel  edible  both  in  the  natural  state  and  when 
preserved. 

3.  Persimmon  (Diospyros).  Of  this  there  are  several  vari- 
eties, but  one  is  peculiar  to  Formosa.  The  most  common  is 
red  and  about  the  size  and  shape  of  a  tomato,  for  which, 
indeed,  it  might  easily  be  mistaken.  The  other  is  hard  and 
green,  and  is  eaten  after  being  cut  and  dipped  in  water. 

4.  Arbutus  or  strawberry-tree  (Arbutus  Unedo).  It  resembles 
a  strawberry,  but  one  has  to  acquire  a  taste  for  it  before  rel- 
ishing it.     It  is  often  pickled  and  used  as  a  condiment. 

5.  Angular  fruit  [Averrhoa  Carambola).  This  is  a  peculiar 
fruit  of  angular  shape,  two  inches  long,  and  of  yellow-green 
color.  When  ripe  it  is  very  juicy,  of  a  green-gooseberry  flavor, 
and  is  much  relished. 

6.  Pomelo  or  shaddock  (Citrus  decumand).  The  formation 
of  this  fruit  is  sectional,  similar  to  that  of  the  orange ;  but  it  is 
considerably  larger,  being  about  the  size  of  a  citron.  There 
are  several  species  of  it.  The  fruit  of  one  is  reddish,  and  of 
another  whitish.     The  latter  is  preferred  by  foreigners. 

7.  Banana  (Musa  textilis).  The  stem  of  the  banana  is  soft 
and  does  not  resemble  that  of  hard  trees.  The  young  shoot 
springs  near  the  old  plant,  which  falls  after  the  fruit  is  ripened. 
In  one  year  there  may  be  three  successive  bunches,  each  weigh- 
ing about  forty  pounds.  The  ground  around  a  banana-tree  is 
always  wet,  and  where  cultivated  the  neighborhood  is  more  or 
less  malarious. 

8.  Orange  (Citrus  AuranHum).  The  sweet  and  bitter  grow 
here.  There  is  a  wild  orange  found  in  the  forest,  but  it  is  much 
smaller  than  the  cultivated  one.  There  is  one  species  which 
bears  white  flowers  and  golden  fruit  at  the  same  time.  The 
natives  call  it  the  "  four-season  "  orange. 

9.  Plum  [Prunus  domesticd).  Considering  the  little  attention 
paid  to  its  cultivation,  the  Formosa  plum  must  be  described  as 


62  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

excellent.  One  kind  is  reddish  to  the  pit  and  makes  a  deli- 
cious preserve. 

10.  Pear  (P)'rus  communis).  This  is  hard  and  woody,  like 
its  wild  uncultivated  cousin  in  the  West. 

it.  Crab-apple  (Pyrus  Mains).  The  apple  is  indigenous. 
How  interesting  and  suggestive  the  fact  that  we  have  in  For- 
mosa the  original  of  the  northern  spy,  maiden's-blush,  pip- 
pin, baldwin — indeed,  of  all  the  varieties  of  apple  known  in 
the  world ;  and  that  the  difference  between  these  fine  fruits 
and  this  scrawny  crab  is  the  result  of  horticultural  care  and 
cultivation ! 

12.  Guava  (Psidium).  The  tree  which  bears  this  fruit  is  to 
be  found  growing  eight  or  ten  feet  high  all  over  the  hills ;  but 
it  is  also  cultivated  in  gardens  or  orchards,  and  its  fruit  is  im- 
proved thereby.  The  natives  salt  it  when  green  and  eat  it 
when  ripe. 

13.  Pomegranate  (Punka  granatwn).  The  dark  scarlet 
flowers  of  the  pomegranate  are  of  surpassing  beauty,  but  as 
compared  with  that  of  Palestine  the  fruit  is  not  to  be  desired. 

14.  Lime  (Citrus  Limetta).  The  rind  of  this  fruit  is  dense,  of 
a  greenish-yellow  color,  and  really  excellent  when  ripe.  It  has 
a  bitter  taste.  There  are  also  "  four-season  "  limes,  producing 
fruit  and  flowers  at  the  same  time. 

15.  Citron  (Citrus  medico).  It  is  much  larger  than  the  lime, 
and  has  a  thick,  tuberous  rind.  Its  pulp  is  not  so  acid  as  that 
of  the  lime. 

1 6.  Peach  (Persica  vulgaris).  The  wild  peach  is  small,  round, 
and  hairy,  but  the  grafted  variety  is  delicious  when  fully  ripe. 

17.  Pineapple  (Ananassa  saliva).  The  best  pineapples  grow 
in  light  loam  in  the  vicinity  of  the  sulphur-springs.  The  plants 
are  two  feet  high.  One  looking  at  them  growing  in  the  dis- 
tance might  mistake  them  for  a  garden  of  cabbages.  Expor- 
tation is  more  disastrous  to  this  fruit  than  to  any  other.  One 
who  has  eaten  the  rich  and  luscious  pineapple  in  its  native  For- 


TREES,  PLANTS,  AND  FLOWERS  63 

mosa  cannot  endure  the  very  best  offered  for  sale  in  foreign 
markets. 

18.  Mango  (Mangifera  Induct).  Nothing  can  be  said  in 
praise  of  this  fruit  as  it  is  found  in  North  Formosa.  It  has 
the  taste  of  turpentine. 

19.  Papaw  (Can't  a  Papaya).  The  tree  which  produces  this 
fruit  grows  to  the  height  of  about  twenty  feet.  The  fruit  itself 
is  very  edible,  is  yellow  when  ripe,  and  has  a  milky  juice. 
Formosan  mothers  boil  this  fruit  in  the  raw  state,  and  eat  it 
with  pork,  for  they  believe  that  on  such  a  diet  they  can  more 
liberally  nourish  their  babes. 

20.  Jujube  [Zizyphus  Jujuba).  The  jujube-tree  grows  to 
the  height  of  thirty  feet.  Its  fruit  is  eaten  by  the  natives,  but 
is  somewhat  insipid. 

21.  Breadfruit  (Artocarpus  incisa).  This  fruit  is  used  by  the 
aborigines  exclusively.     The  plant  has  a  viscid,  milky  juice. 

22.  Lichi  (Nephelium  Litchi).  It  has  a  soft  pulp,  which  is 
very  delicious.  It  is  often  dried  with  sugar  and  used  as  a  pre- 
serve. 

23.  Hong-kaw  (Naucka  cordifolia).  This  is  a  yellow  fruit, 
and  is  slightly  larger  than  the  egg  of  a  common  gray-bird. 

24.  Raspberry.  Both  red  and  black  varieties  grow  in 
abundance  everywhere  on  the  cleared  hills ;  but  though  the 
fruit  looks  full  and  enticing  when  ripe,  it  has  not  the  flavor  of 
the  Western  berry,  and  is  never  eaten,  unless,  indeed,  occasion- 
ally by  the  herd-boys. 

25.  Fig  (Fiats).  The  only  indigenous  fig  is  a  creeping  one, 
which  is  a  parasite.  Starting  out  self-dependent  near  a  tree,  it 
will  fasten  itself  to  the  trunk  and  climb  up  till  it  reaches  and 
overshadows  the  topmost  branches.  The  Chinese  regard  the 
fruit,  when  boiled  to  a  jelly,  as  valuable  for  medicinal  purposes. 

26.  There  is  a  creeping  plant  which  produces  a  berry  some- 
what similar  to  the  strawberry. 


64  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 


III.  Fibrous  Plat  its 

At  the  outset  it  is  well  to  state  that  there  is  no  hemp,  flax, 
or  cotton  in  North  Formosa. 

i.  Jute  {Corchorus  capsular? s).  This  grows  ten  or  twelve 
feet  high,  and  is  manufactured  into  cords,  bags,  and  cables. 

2.  Grass-cloth  or  rhea  {Baihmeria  nivea).  It  is  cultivated 
with  great  care,  fertilized  with  liquid  manure,  and  made  into 
grass-cloth  and  cords.  It  is  found  in  Assam,  Nepaul,  and 
Sikkim. 

3 .  Trian gular  rush  ( Cyprus  tegetiformis) .  This  grows  in  brack- 
ish water,  and  is  cultivated  in  the  Tai-kah  region,  at  the  boun- 
dary of  our  mission.  That  place,  indeed,  has  become  famous 
for  its  bed-mats  made  from  this  material.  The  mats  vary  in 
price  from  two  to  five  dollars  each. 

4.  Banana.  Out  of  the  fibers  of  the  stem  a  thin  summer 
cloth  is  manufactured. 

5.  Pineapple.  Very  luscious.  Out  of  its  leaves  a  cloth  is 
made,  similar  to  that  made  from  the  banana  fibers. 

6.  Dwarf  palm.    Cords  are  made  from  the  fibers  of  the  bark. 

7.  Rain-coat  {Chamcsrops  excelsa).  The  brown  fibers  near 
the  leaf-sheets  are  sewn  together  with  threads  of  the  same 
material.  The  product  is  converted  into  coats  which  are  worn 
during  the  heavy  rains  by  peasants  and  boatmen.  The  coat  is 
certainly  a  durable  one,  for  even  though  exposed  to  sun  and 
rain  for  fifteen  years  it  will  not  rot. 

8.  Paper-mulberry  (Broussonetia  papyrifera).  The  bark  is 
stripped  from  the  trunk  and  lower  branches,  and  afterward 
immersed  in  tubs  containing  water ;  but  the  liquid  is  not  ready 
for  use  for  several  days.  When  it  is  prepared,  a  framework 
four  feet  square  is  made,  and  on  it  is  fastened  a  coarse  mate- 
rial like  bag  stuff.  The  frame  is  held  on  an  incline  and  the 
liquid  is  poured  gently  over  the  canvas.  The  lower  end  of  the 
framework  is  then  raised  until  the  liquid  spreads  evenly  over 


TREES,  PLANTS,  AND   FLOWERS  65 

the  surface  and  begins  to  thicken.  It  is  then  returned  to  the 
inclined  position  and  exposed  to  the  drying  rays  of  the  sun. 
The  result  is  a  sheet  of  gray  paper  resembling  the  material  in 
a  wasp's  nest.  This  paper  is  oiled  and  used  in  umbrella  manu- 
facture instead  of  cloth. 

9.  Getho  (Alpinia  Chinensis).  It  grows  wild  on  the  hills, 
among  shrubs,  everywhere.  The  leaves  are  long,  and  the 
flowers  are  white  and  waxy,  and  yellow  within.  The  fibers 
are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  soles  for  one  kind  of  grass 
sandals. 

IV.  Leguminous  Plants 

1.  Indigo  (IndigoJ Tera  tinctoria).  There  are  two  species.  One, 
with  a  small  leaf,  is  cultivated  in  a  sandy  loam  ;  the  other,  with 
large  leaves  not  unlike  the  Irish  potato,  is  cultivated  in  new 
land,  sometimes  around  stumps. 

2.  Ground-nut  or  peanut  {Arachis  hypogcea).  The  appear- 
ance of  this  plant  in  the  field  is  like  clover.  It  has  pretty  yel- 
low blossoms.  The  legumes  are  produced  underground  ;  hence 
the  Chinese  name,  lok-hoa-seng.  To  dig  the  nuts  is  very 
laborious  work.  The  Chinese,  therefore,  make  what  pioneers 
used  to  call  a  "bee,"  and  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  men, 
women,  and  children  can  be  seen  together  digging  with 
little  scoops  in  the  right  hand,  and  picking  up  the  nuts  with 
the  left.  They  are  usually  boiled  and  have  salt  thrown  over 
them,  or  else  roasted.  Every  rice-stall  throughout  the  coun- 
try has  these  useful  peanuts  on  the  table.  From  them  an  oil 
is  expressed  which  is  used  for  both  food  and  light. 

3.  Beans,  of  which  there  are  many  varieties,  are  cultivated 
extensively. 

4.  Peas  are  less  common  and  have  fewer  varieties. 

5.  Siusi  (Arbus precatorius).  This  has  long,  narrow  leaves 
and  very  lovely  round  yellow  flowers.  There  are  rows  of 
it  in  the  college  grounds,  and  when  all  the  branches  are  a 


66  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

mass  of  yellow  the  sight  is  charming.  Nearly  all  the  tea-plan- 
tations have  these  trees  planted  around  to  protect  them  from 
the  wind. 

6.  Sensitive-plant  (Mimosa  sensitive?)  grows  wild  in  culti- 
vated localities. 

7.  Vetch  (Vieia  Cracca).  This  is  not  unlike  the  bean,  and  is 
found  both  wild  and  under  cultivation. 

8.  Cessimum,  sometimes  called  til.  It  is  a  Cessimum  orien- 
tale,  and  has  black  seeds,  from  which  a  bland  oil,  dark  in  color, 
is  made.  This  is  very  highly  prized  by  the  Chinese ;  in  fact,  it 
is  considered  almost  a  household  necessity. 

V.  Grasses 

1.  Rice  (Oryza  saliva).  This  is  the  great  staple  of  the  land. 
Its  culture  is  explained  at  length  in  another  chapter. 

2.  Wheat  (Triticum  vulgare).  This  cereal  is  sown  in  Novem- 
ber and  harvested  in  May.  At  best  the  crop  is  poor,  and 
now  that  American  flour  is  imported  its  cultivation  is  rapidly 
diminishing. 

3.  Barley  (Hordeum  vulgare).  There  is  but  little  barley 
grown  anywhere  on  the  island. 

4.  Maize  (Zea  Mays).  This  is  cultivated  by  both  Chinese 
and  savages.  When  the  grains  are  quite  hard  it  is  boiled  and 
eaten  off  the  cob. 

5.  Millet  {Panicum  miliaceuni).  Of  this  there  are  different 
varieties.  One  kind  is  only  three  feet  high,  while  another,  the 
Sorghum  vulgare,  grows  to  the  height  of  ten  feet  in  good  soil. 

6.  Oats  are  not  cultivated.  I  experimented  with  Cana- 
dian seeds.  They  produced  straw  four  feet  high,  which  was 
like  stalks  of  reed,  but  the  kernels  were  worthless. 

7.  Sugar-cane  (Saeeharum  Sinense  velolaceum).  There  are 
two  kinds  of  sugar-cane  cultivated,  the  one  for  chewing,  and 
the  other  for  the  manufacture  of  brown  sugar  for  export. 


TREES,  PLANTS,  AND  FLOWERS  67 

8.  Bamboo  (Bambusa  arundinaced).  There  is  one  large 
species  which  is  split  and  made  into  baskets,  hoops,  etc. 
Another  kind  grows  to  about  the  size  of  a  large  fishing-rod. 
There  is  still  another  with  small  and  feathery  leaves  which  is 
planted  for  hedges.  The  young  shoots  are  cut  off  and  used 
for  pickles.  Boats,  houses,  bridges,  baskets,  chairs,  hen-coops, 
bird-cages,  jars,  water-vessels,  pipes,  lamps,  beds,  masts,  doors, 
hoops,  mats,  paper,  are  all  made  from  this  indispensable  grass. 
The  savages  also  make  earrings  out  of  it,  and  the  only  musical 
instruments  they  possess.  It  is  to  the  Chinese  what  the  cocoa- 
nut  is  to  the  South  Sea  Islander  and  the  date-palm  to  the 
African.  It  rarely  flowers  or  produces  seed,  so  that  when 
flowers  are  seen  those  who  are  very  superstitious  declare  that 
some  great  change  will  certainly  soon  take  place. 
9.  Couch-grass  (Triticum  repens)  grows  wild. 

10.  Sand-grass  (Psamma  aretiatia). 

11.  A  most  useful  reed  [Saccharum  proceruni). 

There  are  numerous  grasses,  many  of  which  bear  red,  white, 
or  black  seeds.  These  seeds  are  used  as  beads  by  the  wild 
mountaineers.  A  most  useful  reed,  lo-tek  or  arunde,  is  used 
by  builders ;  and  the  cellular  tissues  of  lampwick  [Lepironia) 
we  used  in  the  early  days  in  our  little  bamboo  lamps. 

VI.  Bulbous  Plants 

1.  Sweet  potato  [Batatas  edulis).  This  is  really  a  convol- 
vulus, with  pretty  flowers,  creeping  tendrils,  and  large  bulbs 
underground.  It  must  be  distinguished  from  the  ordinary 
potato  which  produces  such  nutritious  tubers,  and  which  be- 
longs to  a  different  order,  the  Solatium  tuberosum.  The  bulb 
of  the  sweet  potato  is  planted  in  March.  In  about  six  weeks 
the  vines  are  cut  into  pieces  eight  inches  long,  which  are 
planted  in  drills,  and  from  these  vine-cuttings  the  bulbs  grow, 
and  are  ripe  about  the  end  of  June.    A  second  crop  is  planted 


68  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

in  a  similar  way  in  July  and  is  ripe  in  November.  Bulbs  are 
never  grown  from  bulbs,  but  invariably  from  vine-cuttings. 
There  are  three  varieties,  which  differ  in  size,  shape,  and  color. 

2.  Yam  (Dioscorea  sativa).  There  are  several  kinds — one 
white,  another  reddish,  a  third  grows  in  water,  while  several 
others  are  produced  on  dry  land  on  the  hillsides.  The  dye- 
yam,  which  is  procured  from  the  mountains,  is  used  mainly  by 
the  fishermen  for  dyeing  their  nets,  clothes,  and  ropes. 

3.  Hoan-koah.  This  has  a  leaf  in  seven  divisions,  palmate 
in  form.  Above-ground  it  is  a  creeping  vine.  The  tubers,  one 
foot  long,  are  beneath  the  surface.  They  are  dried,  grated  to 
powder,  and  used  for  food. 

4.  Taro  (Aracacece).     Also  edible,  similar  to  the  yam. 

5.  Turmeric  (Curcuma  longa).  The  branches  of  the  root- 
stalk  are  used  as  a  coloring-matter,  medicine,  and  condiment. 
The  powder  which  is  made  from  the  root-stalk  is  of  a  lemon- 
yellow  color.  This  enters  largely  into  the  composition  of  curry- 
powder. 

VII.    Vegetables 

1.  Pumpkin  (Cucurbit a  maxima).  It  grows  to  a  large  size. 
One  can  occasionally  be  found  weighing  as  much  as  sixty 
pounds.     The  savages  have  a  small,  sweet  variety. 

2.  Squash  (Cucurbita  Melo-pepd).     Of  considerable  size. 

3.  Cucumber  (Cue  urn  is  sativus).  The  common  variety  grows 
larger  than  in  America,  and  besides  there  is  a  large,  soft, 
and  good  species  which  is  pickled  and  used  extensively  with 
rice. 

4.  Melon  (Cucumis  Meld).  This  compares  favorably  with 
that  found  in  the  West. 

5.  Watermelon  (Cucumis  Citrullus).  This  is  extensively 
grown  on  sandy  soil,  and  is  very  refreshing. 

6.  Bottle-gourd  (Cucurbita  Lageuaria).  When  young  and 
tender  this  vegetable  is  sometimes  eaten,  but  it  is  generally 


TREES,  PLANTS,  AND  F LOWERS  69 

cultivated  for  its  value  as  a  water-bottle,  water-dipper,  water- 
jar,  or  a  jar  for  holding  coral-lime. 

7.  Water-cress  [Lepidium  sativum).  An  excellent  water-cress 
is  found  in  running  streams,  but  it  is  rather  strange  that  people 
who  eat  and  enjoy  so  many  herbs  and  vegetables  of  all  de- 
scriptions should  never  partake  of  the  wholesome  cress.  The 
European  sailors,  however,  especially  the  blue-jackets  from 
her  Britannic  Majesty's  ships,  soon  found  it  out,  and  now 
they  can  often  be  seen  with  their  bonnets  full,  returning  to  the 
ship  to  enjoy  a  fresh  delicacy  at  mess. 

8.  Tomato  (Solatium  or  Lycopersicum  esculentum).  The 
tomato  is  truly  indigenous,  for  it  grows  wild  on  cleared  spots 
within  the  mountains,  among  shrubs,  and  beside  pathways.  For 
years  I  tried  to  induce  the  Pe-po-hoan  to  grow  and  use  the 
tomato,  but  so  far  my  efforts  have  been  in  vain.  The  Chinese 
themselves  have  an  intense  dislike  to  the  taste.  This  is  to  be 
regretted,  for  the  large  cultivated  variety  could  be  grown  with 
little  trouble. 

9.  Brinjal  (Solatium  Melongena).  The  fruit  is  of  a  purple 
color,  five  or  six  inches  in  length  and  an  inch  in  thickness.  It 
grows  on  a  plant  somewhat  like  a  standing  tomato  when  about 
eighteen  inches  high.  It  is  sliced  lengthwise,  boiled,  dipped 
in  sauce,  and  eaten. 

10.  White  cabbage  (Brassica).  There  are  several  varieties, 
which  have  been  derived  from  Brassica  o/cracca,  the  original 
species.  The  foreign  drumhead  cabbage  has  been  introduced 
and  cultivated  successfully.  Occasionally  one  is  found  weigh- 
ing twenty  pounds. 

11.  Onion  (Allium  Ccpd).  The  bulb  is  very  small.  The 
whole  plant,  having  been  boiled  to  dissipate  the  phosphoric 
acid,  is  eaten  as  a  relish  with  rice. 

12.  Leek  [Allium  Porrutti).  This  is  used  as  the  onion,  but 
it  is  preferred  when  it  is  in  blossom. 

13.  Garlic  [Allium  sativum).     This  is  extensively  cultivated 


70  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

and  used  for  its  well-known  irritant,  stimulating,  and  diuretic 
properties. 

14.  Celery  [Apium  graveolens).  This  is  used  green,  never 
blanched.  It  is  boiled,  cut  into  pieces  an  inch  long,  and  eaten 
with  rice. 

15.  Spinach  [Spinacia  oleracea).  It  is  used  as  an  esculent 
pot-herb. 

16.  Turnip  [Brassica  rapa).  The  different  varieties  are  all 
white.  One  large  kind  resembles  that  in  Western  lands.  It  is 
sliced,  salted,  and  thus  prepared  for  future  use.  The  small 
round  variety  is  very  sweet  and  succulent. 

17.  Bean  [Papilionaceaz).  Many  types  of  bean  are  found, 
some  white,  others  black  ;  some  flat,  others  round ;  some  large, 
others  small.  They  are  all  edible.  The  pods  of  a  creeper  in 
the  forest  are  sometimes  two  feet  in  length,  while  the  cultivated 
bean,  which  grows  over  water  on  trellis-work,  is  eighteen  inches 
long.     The  Dolichos  saga  might  be  designated  the  oil-bean. 

18.  Pea  [Papi/ianacece).  It  is  planted,  not  sown  broadcast, 
and  its  pods,  when  small,  are  picked,  boiled,  and  used  as  a 
vegetable. 

19.  Lettuce  [Laciuca  sativa).  This  is  never  used  in  the  raw 
state,  but  is  always  boiled  before  being  eaten.  Its  property  of 
alleviating  pain  and  inducing  sleep  is  well  understood. 

20.  Parsley  [Petroselinum  sativum)  is  cooked  in  lard  before 
it  is  put  on  the  table. 

21.  Mustard  [Brassica  Sinapis).  This,  when  salted,  is  the 
staple  vegetable  among  the  peasants. 

22.  Coriander  [Coriandum  sativum)  is  used  as  a  salad, 
dipped  in  soy. 

23.  Fennel  {Famiculum  vulgare)  is  sometimes  used  as  a  food, 
but  more  frequently  as  a  medicine. 

24.  Ginger  [Zingiber  officinale).  This  very  useful  plant  at- 
tains the  height  of  about  a  foot,  and  has  long,  pointed  leaves. 
The  rhizomes  or  roots  are  taken  when  green,  sliced,  and  pre- 


TREES,  PLANTS,  AND   FLOWERS  71 

pared  as  a  relish.  Around  the  city  of  Tek-chham  there  has 
sprung  up  quite  an  industry  in  preparing  it  for  market.  It  is 
preserved  dry,  in  sugar,  in  small  earthen  pots.  It  is  not  in 
any  way  like  the  preparation  in  Canton  which  is  brought  into 
Western  lands.  Plums,  peaches,  and  pears  are  preserved  in 
small  earthen  pots  like  the  Tek-chham  ginger. 

25.  Ka-pek-sun  [Cyperus).  This  is  a  sedge  found  in  drains, 
watercourses,  and  rivulets.  The  shoots,  in  the  autumn,  are 
used  daily  at  meals.  The  root,  when  sliced,  is  of  a  whitish 
color,  with  black  spots.  It  is  truly  a  well-flavored,  palatable 
vegetable. 

VIII.  Other  Kinds  of  Plants 

1.  Tobacco  (Nkotia?ia  Tabacum).  On  the  eastern  coast 
tobacco  grows  sometimes  ten  feet  high.  I  never  saw  a  living 
creature  put  to  death  more  expeditiously  than  was  a  venomous 
serpent  one  day  when  we  were  erecting  Oxford  College.  He 
was  found  under  a  heap  of  tiles.  One  laborer  pinned  him  to 
the  ground  with  a  pole.  Another  took  from  his  tobacco-pipe 
a  small  quantity  of  nicotine  and  put  it  to  the  mouth  of  the  rep- 
tile. Instantly  his  snakeship  drew  himself  up,  stretched  him- 
self out,  shuddered,  and,  being  released,  turned  his  whitish 
belly  upward  and  expired.  I  would  have  thought  this  incred- 
ible had  I  not  witnessed  it.  It  should  be  stated,  however,  that 
the  said  pipe  was  an  heirloom  for  four  generations.  No  won- 
der the  nicotine  was  somewhat  rank. 

2.  Tea  (Camellia  theiferd).  The  tea-plant  is  grown  on  the  up- 
lands and  hillsides.  It  is  generally  planted  in  rows,  and  attains 
a  height  of  several  feet.  The  pickers,  stooping  down,  go  be- 
tween the  rows  and  pluck  the  tender  leaves  with  both  hands, 
depositing  them  in  baskets  strapped  on  their  backs.  Tea- 
leaves  are  first  of  all  dried  in  the  sun.  At  times  they  are 
trampled  with  the  bare  feet,  then  partially  dried  in  heated 


72  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

pans,  after  which  they  are  taken  in  sacks  to  the  tea-houses  in 
the  city.  There  they  are  refired  with  great  care,  picked,  and 
graded  according  to  quality.  Hundreds  of  women  and  chil- 
dren can  be  seen  on  low  stools  engaged  in  sorting  during  the 
tea  season.  Flowers  are  used  to  flavor  the  tea,  especially  the 
gardenia,  which  is  cultivated  in  fields  for  this  express  purpose. 
Tea  is  the  universal  beverage,  and  it  is  the  badge  of  hospital- 
ity. The  moment  one  enters  a  cot,  however  humble,  the  order 
is  issued,  "Tsoa  te  "  ("  Infuse  tea").  A  few  leaves  are  put 
into  a  tea-cup  and  boiling  water  poured  over  them,  and  that 
cup  is  the  one  from  which  the  tea  is  sipped.  Neither  milk  nor 
sugar  is  ever  used  by  the  natives  in  their  tea. 

3.  Dandelion  [Leontodon  Taraxacum).  This  is  similar  to  its 
New  World  relative. 

4.  Common  thistle  [Cardans).  Similar  to  the  common  bull- 
thistle,  but  smaller.  This  is  the  only  variety  found  on  the 
island. 

5.  Mint  [Mentha).  The  three  varieties  are  found — pepper- 
mint, spearmint,  and  pennyroyal. 

6.  Plantain  [Plantago  major).  This  is  said  to  follow  in  the 
wake  of  man,  and  I  suppose  it  does,  for  he  would  be  a  clever 
botanist  who  could  distinguish  between  the  Canadian  or 
Scotch  and  Formosan  plantains. 

7.  Rush  [Juncacece).  This  is  used  for  cleaning  tables,  buck- 
ets, and  benches,  as  in  North  Britain  and  America. 

8.  Water-caltrop  [Trafta  bicornis).  It  is  found  in  shallow 
water,  and  is  called  by  the  Chinese  "  dragon's  horns."  Black- 
ish outside,  it  certainly  resembles  the  horns  of  the  water-buffalo. 
It  is  boiled  before  being  eaten. 

9.  Fern.  There  is  an  almost  endless  variety,  but  the  brake 
is  the  most  common.  There  is  a  beautiful  creeper  of  such 
variegated  form  that  separate  sections  of  the  same  plant  would 
be  pronounced  by  any  but  skilled  botanists  to  be  parts  of  dif- 
ferent species. 


TREES,  PLANTS,  AND  FLOWERS  73 

10.  Duckweed.  This  is  the  weed  which  causes  the  farmer 
so  much  arduous  toil  in  the  rice-fields. 

ii.  Thorn-apple  {Datura  Stramonium).  It  has  a  prickly 
capsule,  and  grows  in  great  abundance  in  some  localities. 

12.  Artemisia  is  put  up  over  the  doors  with  green  branches 
of  the  banian,  and  is  supposed  to  confer  health  and  prosperity 
upon  the  family. 

13.  Wood-sorrel  (Oxalis  Acetosclla)  has  beautiful  flowers,  and 
trifoliate  leaves  which  resemble  the  shamrock. 

14.  As  might  be  expected  in  that  climate,  fungi,  mushrooms, 
puffballs,  mildew,  rust,  dry-rot,  and  moulds  are  very  common. 
The  Penicillium  glaucum  is  very  destructive  of  books  in  hot, 
damp  weather,  utterly  ruining  the  best  bindings  in  a  few  days. 

15.  Cactus  with  anomalous  ferns  is  common. 

16.  Seaweed  {Algce)  is  found  in  green,  red,  and  black  vari- 
eties in  shallow  water,  and  cast  up  in  large  quantities  on  the 
beach  by  the  waves. 

IX.  Flowers 

1.  Convolvulus  (Convolvulus  Byronice  folius).  It  grows  so  as 
to  entirely  cover  large  shade-trees.  After  the  sun  rises  this 
morning-glory  is  truly  gorgeous. 

2.  Rose.  There  are  the  creeping  rose,  which  trails  along  the 
ground,  the  white  single  rose,  and  Zephyranthes  rosea,  with  its 
purple  flowers.  They  grow  wild  on  the  hillsides  and  in  open 
spaces. 

3.  Magnolia  (Fuscata).  Owing  to  its  choice  fragrance  this 
is  the  favorite  flower  in  all  Formosa,  the  women  especially 
prizing  its  sweet-scented  odor  above  all  others.  The  Magnolia 
pumila  is  also  found. 

4.  Chloranthus  (Inconspicuceus). 

5.  Gardenia.     Cultivated  for  flavoring  tea. 

6.  Hibiscus. 

7.  Crested  cockscomb  (Celosia  crista  fa). 


74  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

8.  Honeysuckle. 

9.  Marigold. 

10.  White  lily.  During  the  months  of  March,  April,  and 
May  this  beautiful  flower,  so  much  prized  in  Western  green- 
houses, and  called  the  Easter  lily,  bedecks  a  thousand  hillsides. 
I  had  several  planted  on  good,  rich,  and  prepared  soil  at 
Tamsui,  and  they  grew  to  the  height  of  four  or  five  feet. 

1 1.  Azalea. 

12.  Hollyhock. 

13.  Vinca  rosea.  This  bears  purple-and-white  flowers  for 
fully  one  half  the  year.  So  tenacious  is  it  of  life  that  it  is 
found  at  the  seaside  and  in  all  kinds  of  soil,  and  the  smallest 
fragment  of  root  left  in  the  ground  will  spring  up  and  grow. 

14.  Wild  violets.  Violets,  intermingled  with  lovely  little 
yellow  blossoms,  beautify  all  the  uplands. 

15.  Bluebells  {Campanula  rotundifolid). 

16.  Pardanthus  Chinensis. 

17.  Asclepias  curassavica.  This  has  a  small  yellow  cup-like 
flower,  delicate  and  charming ;  grows  wild  on  little  knolls. 

18.  Be-te  {Taberncemontana  recurva).  This  has  attractive 
white  flowers. 

19.  Kui-hoe  [Olea  fragrans).  This  flower  is  highly  appreci- 
ated by  the  Chinese  women  as  an  adornment  in  their  headgear. 

20.  Balsam.     Cultivated  in  gardens. 

21.  Lotus  {Nymphcea  Lotus).     Found  in  ponds. 

22.  Chrysanthemum.  Many  varieties,  carefully  cultivated, 
and  brought  to  a  high  state  of  perfection. 

23.  To-tiau-lien  [Bryophyllum  calycinuni).  The  white  flowers 
of  this  plant  are  often  seen  hanging  over  wTalls  and  rocks. 

24.  Un-tsu-chio  (Costus  speciosa). 

25.  Kim-chiam  {Hemerocallis  distkha).  This  is  also  used  as 
a  vegetable. 

26.  Peony  {Paonia  Moutan)  is  cultivated. 

27.  Sien-tan  [Ixora  apperis).  It  has  bright  scarlet  flowers. 
Several  varieties  were  doubtless  introduced  from  China. 


TREES,  r  LI  NTS,  AND  FLOWERS  75 

28.  Orchids.  A  common  and  interesting  variety  is  the 
lady's  tresses  [NeotHa  spiralis),  called  by  the  Chinese  "cork- 
screw." It  seems  to  me  that  this  orchid  family  surpasses  all 
others  in  the  island  for  beauty  and  fragrance.  Orchids  are 
pretty  when  seen  in  conservatories,  but  to  be  viewed  to  ad- 
vantage they  must  be  met  in  their  home  in  the  dense  forests, 
on  the  ground  or  on  the  branches  of  trees.  The  exquisite  fra- 
grance of  some,  and  the  varied  forms  and  colors  of  others,  re- 
sembling, as  they  do,  spiders,  birds,  and  butterflies,  render  them 
all  objects  of  indescribable  beauty  and  interest.  At  times  one 
stands  as  if  on  enchanted  ground.  In  those  primeval  forests 
the  traveler  becomes  suddenly  conscious  of  an  influence  that 
soothes  and  charms,  making  him  for  a  while  oblivious  to  all 
things  else.  It  is  the  matchless  fragrance  of  the  orchid  that 
there  year  after  year  "  wastes  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air." 

The  botany  of  Formosa  presents  a  subject  of  intensest  inter- 
est to  the  thoughtful  student.  For  the  missionary  there  is  a 
tongue  in  every  leaf,  a  voice  in  every  flower.  Do  we  not,  as 
the  great  naturalist,  Alfred  Russel  Wallace,  said,  "obtain  a 
fuller  and  clearer  insight  into  the  course  of  nature,  and  in- 
creased confidence  that  the  mighty  maze  of  being  we  see 
everywhere  around  us  is  not  without  a  plan "  ?  Who  can 
tread  the  ever  green  carpet  of  grass ;  who  can  see  the  many- 
colored  flowers  and  blossoms  on  plant  and  vine  and  shrub ; 
who  can  look  up  at  the  tangled  growths  of  the  bamboo,  the 
palm,  the  elegant  tree-fern,  or  the  stately  pride  of  the  silent 
forests,  and  not  be  struck  by  the  harmony  between  God's 
work  and  Word  ?  Understanding  something  of  the  flora  of 
Formosa,  what  missionary  would  not  be  a  better  man,  the 
bearer  of  a  richer  evangel?  What  convert  would  not  be  a 
more  enduring  Christian?  With  reverent  delight  and  adora- 
tion we  exclaim,  "  O  Lord,  how  manifold  are  thy  works!  In 
wisdom  hast  thou  made  them  all.  The  earth  is  full  of  thy 
goodness." 


CHAPTER    VIII 


ANIMAL    LIFE 


Mammalia — Birds — Reptiles — Fishes — Insects — Mollusca 

IT  would  require  a  volume  rather  than  a  brief  chapter  to  dis- 
cuss in  detail  the  zoology  of  Formosa.  The  subject  has  not 
yet  received  the  attention  of  naturalists,  and  no  lists  or  classi- 
fication has  been  made.  There  is  being  manifested  both  in 
the  East  and  in  America  a  desire  for  information  about  the 
animal  life  of  the  island,  and  to  meet  in  part  the  acknowledged 
want  I  have  prepared  lists  under  the  various  subdivisions  of 
mammalia,  birds,  reptiles,  fishes,  insects,  and  mollusca.  Those 
interested  in  the  subject  will  be  able  to  fill  up  the  outline,  and 
the  general  reader  may  not  find  this  chapter  uninstructive 
reading. 

I.  Mammalia 

Mammalia  Peculiar  to  Formosa 

i.  Monkey,  pouched  {Macacus  cyclopis).  Many  of  this  class 
are  found.  We  fed  and  cared  for  half  a  dozen  from  babyhood 
upward,  and  observed  how  similar  they  were  to  the  earliest 
fossil  monkeys. 

2.  Tree-civet  (Helictis  subaurantiacd). 

3.  Wild  boar  [Sus  taivanus). 

4.  Flying-squirrel  [Sciuropterus  kaleensis). 

5.  White-breasted  flying-squirrel  {Pteromys  pectoralis). 

6.  Red  flying-squirrel  [Pteromys  graudis). 

76 


ANIMAL   LIFE  77 

7.  Fiekl-rat  {Mus  iosea). 

8.  Country  rat  {Mus  canna). 

9.  A  smaller  rat  {Mus  Koxinga). 

10.  Fruit-bat  {l^teropus  Formosus). 

11.  Blind  mole  {Talpa  insularis). 

12.  Mountain-goat  {Armor/iccJits  Swinhoii). 

13.  Deer  {Cervus  Swinhoii). 

14.  Spotted  deer  {Pseudaxis). 

Mammalia  not  Peculiar  to  Formosa,  but  Found  There 

1.  Squirrel  {Sci  tints). 

2.  Squirrel  {Sciurits  castaneorcntris). 

3.  Indian  rat  {Mus  Indicus). 

4.  Rat  {Mus  bandicota). 

5.  Gem-faced  civet  {Pegu ma  larvata). 

6.  Spotted  civet  ( Viverricula  Malacceusis).  All  these  civets 
are  wild,  ferocious,  and  untamable. 

7.  Chinese  tiger-cat  {Felis  Chinensis). 

8.  Marten  {Martes  flavigula). 

9.  Musk-rat  {Sorex  murinus). 

10.  Large-eared  bat  {Nyctinornus  cestonii). 

11.  Black-and-orange  bat  {Vcsfiertilio  Formosus). 

12.  Leopard  {Felis par d us). 

13.  Bear  ( Ursus  Malaya  nits).  "We  had  one  to  keep  company 
with  the  monkeys.  It  was  amusing  to  see  them  tease  and  tor- 
ment poor  Bruin  until  he  was  enraged.  Then  he  would  stamp 
with  his  feet.  But  when  he  was  pleased  he  would  put  his  head 
between  his  fore  legs  and  turn  a  series  of  somersaults,  like  a 
ball  rolling  round  and  round. 

14.  Hare  {Lupus  Sinensis). 

15.  Scaly  ant-eater  {Manis  longicaudd).  It  abounds  in  the 
mountains,  is  covered  with  scales,  and  is  toothless.  1 1  burrows  in 
the  ground,  and,  as  its  name  suggests,  feeds  mainly  on  ants,  with 


78  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

which  the  island  is  infested.  It  has  power  to  raise  its  scales, 
which  are  hard  and  horny,  and  after  disturbing  the  ants'  nest 
it  allows  the  inmates  to  cover  its  entire  body.  Then  it  either 
crushes  them  between  its  close-pressed  scales,  or,  plunging  into 
a  pool,  releases  them  on  the  water.  In  either  case  it  secures 
its  prey.  The  Chinese,  referring  to  a  man  who  would  feign 
weakness  in  order  to  accomplish  mischief,  have  this  saying: 
"  The  manis  feigns  death  to  entrap  ants."  They  have  also  a 
superstition  which  leads  them  to  pluck  the  seventh  scale  from 
the  end  of  the  tail  of  this  animal,  and  to  hang  it  as  a  sort  of 
charm  around  the  necks  of  children. 

1 6.  Wildcat  (Be/is  viverrina). 

17.  Otter  (Lutra  vulgaris). 

Domestic  Animals 

1.  Black  goat.  Smaller  than  the  brown  goat  of  Western 
lands. 

2.  Dog.     This  animal  is  wolfish  in  appearance  and  habit. 

3.  Cat.  Similar  in  appearance  and  nature  to  the  Western 
house-cat. 

4.  Horse.  There  are  only  a  few  horses  in  the  island,  and 
the  few  that  are  there  have  been  brought  from  the  mainland 
of  China.     They  are  small  and  used  only  for  riding. 

5.  Water-buffalo  and  ox.  There  seems  to  be  a  misconcep- 
tion regarding  these  two  animals.  Wallace  writes  of  Bos  C/ii- 
nensis,  the  South  China  wild  cow,  as  being  the  same  in  form ; 
WTright  refers  to  the  wild  Formosan  cow ;  and  Blyth  says  it  is 
a  cross  between  the  zebu  and  the  European  bos.  I  never  saw 
and  never  heard  of  such  an  animal  in  the  island.  Under  the 
family  Bovidce  there  is  first  the  ox  {Bos  taurus),  descended  from 
the  Bos  prim  1 'genius,  the  origin  of  all  domestic  cattle.  The  For- 
mosan cattle  are  smaller,  of  Jersey  breed,  and  are  not  milked, 
so  that  there  is  no  butter,  milk,  or  cheese   made  in  North 


ANIMAL   LIFE  79 

Formosa.  Then  there  is  the  now  almost  extinct  bison,  the  Bos 
Americanus.  The  so-called  bnflalo-robe  is  really  a  bison-robe. 
The  bison  family  is  not  found  in  Formosa.  The  third  branch 
of  this  family  is  the  buffalo  (Bubulus  biiffalus),  which  is  dis- 
tinctly Oriental,  takes  the  place  of  the  horse  in  Formosa,  and 
is  by  far  the  most  valuable  animal  reared  there.  It  is  called 
water-buffalo  because  pools  of  water  where  it  may  wallow  are 
necessary  to  its  existence.     (See  chapter  on  Rice-farming.) 

II.  Birds 

Land  Birds 

Formosa  may  not  have  as  many  or  as  beautiful  birds  as  some 
other  tropical  countries,  but  the  island  is  not  without  its  song- 
sters, and  has  several  species  that  are  not  found  elsewhere. 

Birds  Peculiar  to  Formosa 

i.  Thrushes  (Tmdidce). 

2.  Warblers  {Sylviidce).     Three  species. 

3.  Orioles  (Oriolidce).     One  species. 

4.  Crows  [Corvidce).     One  species. 

5.  Babblers  {Ti/na/iidcc).     Eight  species. 

6.  Pheasants  (PJiasia/iidte).     Two  species. 

7.  Partridges  {Tetraonidoz).     Three  species. 

8.  Pigeons.  Three  species.  Early  in  the  morning  the  bam- 
boo-groves resound  with  the  cooing  of  these  beautiful  birds. 

9.  Woodpeckers  (Picidce).     One  species. 

10.  Flycatchers  [Muscicapidw).     One  species. 

11.  Shrikes  {Campcphagidc?).     One  species. 

12.  Tits  [PUridai).     Two  species. 

13.  Weaver-finches  [Ploceidcc).     One  species. 

14.  Goat-suckers  [Caprimulgidce).     One  species. 

15.  Owls  {Strigidce).     Two  species. 


80  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

1 6.  Jays  {Corvidce).     Two  species. 

17.  Skylarks  (Alaudidce).  Two  species.  This  is  the  sweetest 
singer  in  Formosa.  Many  a  time,  traveling  over  the  plateau, 
where  the  dew-gemmed  tea-plantations  and  tall  fir-trees  sparkle 
in  the  morning  sun,  have  I  been  charmed  by  the  cheery  notes 
of  the  skylark  poured  out  now  almost  within  reach,  and  now 
falling  faintly  from  the  deep  empyrean. 

Birds  not  Peculiar  to  Formosa 

1.  Kingfisher  [Halcyon  coromandd). 

2.  Hawk-eagle  (Spizactus  Nipalensis). 

3.  Kite  (Milvus  ictinus). 

4.  Swallow  (Hirundo  rustled). 

5.  Magpie  {Pica  caudata). 

6.  Quail  (Cohmiix  Dussumieri). 

7.  Owl  (Bulaca  Newarcnsis). 

8.  Cormorant  [Glaailus  carbd). 

9.  Sandpiper  (Totamis  hypolcucus). 

10.  Snipe  {Scolopax  gallinagd). 

Sea  Birds 

1.  Common  gull  {Larus  can  us). 

2.  Black  gull  (Larus  marinus). 

3.  Tern  (Sterna  hirundd). 

4.  Wild  duck  (Anas  boscas). 

5.  Teal  (Querquedula  crecca). 

Domestic  Birds 
There  are  no  turkeys  on  the  island,  but  the  universal  custom 
is  to  castrate  male  chickens  of  the  hen  family,  and  so  there  is 
reared  a  capon  which  in  flavor  and  size  is  not  much  inferior  to 
the  gobbler.  This  fowl  walks  about  the  door  quiet  and  tame, 
and  sometimes  attains  a  weight  of  fifteen  pounds.  The  goose, 
common  duck,  and  large  Muscovite  duck  are  common  domes- 
tic fowl. 


ANIMAL   LIFE  81 

III.  Reptiles 

Serpents 

i .  One  day,  on  returning  from  the  country,  and  going  up  the 
steps  to  the  door  of  our  house  in  Tamsui,  I  found  a  large  ser- 
pent, eight  feet  in  length,  lying  across  the  threshold.  With 
help  I  succeeded  in  despatching  him.  The  following  day, 
when  about  to  leave  my  study-room,  I  was  confronted  by  its 
mate,  of  equal  size  and  very  fierce-looking.  A  loud  call 
brought  two  or  three  students,  and  we  ended  that  one's  life. 
They  belonged  to  the  species  Piyas  mucosus. 

2.  Once,  as  I  entered  a  small  shed  like  a  hen-coop,  a  snake 
which  resembled  the  hoop-snake  sprang  from  the  roof  and  fell 
coiled  up  in  front  of  me.  Its  head  was  up  in  a  moment,  and 
ready  to  spring.  I  jumped  backward,  and  with  the  assistance 
of  others  I  succeeded  in  securing  this  rare  specimen  for  my 
museum. 

3.  A  few  years  ago  we  had  a  pigeon-cage,  made  of  bamboo 
wrought  into  the  requisite  shape.  One  night  the  poor  birds 
were  flying  about,  greatly  frightened.  Upon  investigation  we 
found  a  large  snake  of  the  python  family  bent  over  with  its 
head  moving  at  the  pigeon-hole.  One  vigorous  blow  brought 
it  down.  When  fully  stretched  out  it  was  more  than  eight  feet 
in  length. 

4.  At  Tamsui,  near  the  mission  bungalow,  I  erected  a  second 
story  above  an  old  kitchen  for  a  small  study-room.  One 
night,  about  eleven  o'clock,  I  heard  a  noise  among  papers 
which  were  lying  over  a  hole  in  the  floor.  Supposing  that  the 
noise  was  produced  by  rats,  I  called  to  those  below.  Presently 
Koa  Kau  ran  up,  looked  into  the  room,  then  darted  downstairs 
again,  and  in  a  twinkling  pinned  the  exposed  part  of  a  mons- 
trous serpent  to  the  wall  below.  By  this  time  fully  three  feet 
of  the  body  was  through  the  hole  into  the  room  above.    It  was 


82  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

exceedingly  violent,  but  I  soon  thrust  its  head  through  with  a 
long  Chinese  spear.  It  measured  nine  English  feet.  Its  tri- 
angular head  was  protected  by  nine  plates,  the  body  highly 
marked,  the  fangs  not  very  pointed,  and  the  teeth  small  and 
inclined  backward.  The  thought  of  that  midnight  companion 
was  by  no  means  pleasant.  It  was  similar  to  the  hamadryad 
type.  The  Chinese  were  greatly  alarmed  and  would  not  rest 
until  it  was  buried  out  of  sight. 

5.  Walking  across  the  harbor,  making  the  ascent  to  the  pla- 
teau, one  day,  my  eye  suddenly  caught  sight  of  something  green 
in  the  midst  of  the  bushes  at  a  turn  in  the  path.  At  the  same 
instant  it  sprang  to  strike  my  hand;  missing  its  aim,  it 
grabbed  the  end  of  my  sleeve  in  its  teeth.  It  proved  to  be  a 
green  snake  of  the  Dryophis  fulgida  species,  eighteen  inches  in 
length,  with  flat,  triangular  head.  It  is  now  preserved  in  alco- 
hol in  my  museum  at  Tamsui.  The  Chinese  have  a  great  hor- 
ror of  this  species. 

6.  When  among  tall  grasses  and  rocks,  ascending  the  high 
mountain-ranges,  I  was  more  than  once  struck  at  by  the 
deadly  cobra-de-capello.  Owing  to  the  tall  grass  on  each 
side  I  did  not  observe  him,  but  fortunately  he  missed  his  aim. 
One  successful  charge  would  never  need  to  be  repeated. 

7.  I  procured  one  of  the  species  Naja  tripiidiaus,  and  found 
that  keeping  his  head  and  neck  in  spirits  of  ammonia  only 
made  him  writhe  in  agony  and  lash  his  tail  with  fury.  He 
was  four  feet  six  inches  in  length. 

Turtles 

1.  Green  turtle  (Chelonia  viridis).  They  are  found  in  large 
numbers  along  the  shore  of  eastern  Formosa,  and  are  from 
three  to  five  feet  in  length.  They  vary  in  weight  from  two 
hundred  to  four  hundred  pounds.  Going  up  from  the  water 
at  night,  they  dig  holes  in  the  sand  on  the  beach  with  their 
flappers,  lay  their  eggs,  cover  them  over,  then  with  head  erect 


ANIMAL   LIFE  83 

start  back  for  their  home  in  the  sea.  Hundreds  never  reach 
their  destination.  The  savages  are  on  the  beach,  with  fires 
kindled,  awaiting  their  game.  The  turtles  fight  bravely,  but 
being  clumsy  they  are  soon  turned  on  their  backs,  in  which 
position  they  are  helpless. 

2.  Hawk's-bill  turtle  [Chelonia  imbricata).  The  mouth  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  hawk ;  hence  the  name.  It  is  the  one 
from  which  so  many  useful  and  ornamental  articles  are  made. 

3.  Mud-turtle.  These  may  be  found  in  many  of  the  fresh- 
water streams. 

IV.  Fi sites 

Fish  abound  both  in  the  waters  around  the  shore  and  in  the 
rivers  and  streams,  and  every  conceivable  method  is  used  in 
fishing.     Among  the  varieties  may  be  mentioned : 

1.  Flounder  (Platessa  flesus). 

2.  Mullet  (Mull us  barbatus). 

3.  Mackerel  (Scomber). 

4.  Shad  (Clupea  alosd). 

5.  Blackfish. 

6.  Shark  (Carchariida).  The  peculiar  hammerhead  (Zygcena 
malleus)  is  eaten  by  the  poorer  classes.  The  blue  shark  (Car- 
charias  glaucus),  from  five  to  twelve  feet  in  length,  is  caught 
on  the  west  coast,  a  day's  journey  south  from  Tamsui.  The 
flesh  is  eaten,  though  not  relished.  Oil  is  made  out  of  the  liver. 
The  fins,  however,  are  counted  a  choice  delicacy  in  all  parts 
of  China. 

7.  Flying-fish  (Exoccstus  volitans). 

8.  Trout  (Salmo  fario). 

9.  Sunfish. 

10.  Remora.  An  extraordinary  creature  with  a  suctorial 
disk  with  which  it  attaches  itself  to  other  animals  and  sucks 
their  blood.  A  shark  was  once  discovered  in  the  mouth  of  the 
Tamsui  River,  floundering  about  helplessly.     We  surrounded 


84  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

and  secured  him,  and  found  a  remora  about  six  inches  long  in 
his  ear.  This  little  creature  had  power  to  make  the  monster 
of  the  sea  utterly  stupid. 

ii.  Globe-fish  [Diodon  hystrix). 

12.  Diodon  (Ostracion  contains). 

13.  Porpoise  [Phocozna  communis). 

14.  Eel. 

15.  Thornback  (Rija  clavatd). 

16.  Sole  (Solea  vulgaris).  This  is  the  most  palatable  of  all 
the  finny  tribes  in  Formosan  waters,  and  is  most  prized  by 
Chinese  as  well  as  Europeans. 

1 7.  Periophthalmus.  It  is  found  in  mud  or  muddy  water,  as 
if  depending  on  two  leg-like  fins  for  locomotion.  With  these 
it  jumps  and  bounds  with  great  agility.  They  are  the  keenest- 
eyed  creatures  I  have  ever  seen.  They  are  never  caught  nap- 
ping. The  slightest  movement  is  observed,  and  like  a  flash 
they  disappear  into  the  mud.  It  was  years  before  I  succeeded 
in  securing  a  specimen. 

V.  Insects 

1.  Cicada.  If  the  sacred  beetle  engaged  the  attention  of 
the  ancient  Egyptians,  the  cicada  won  the  affections  of  the 
Grecians.  Homer  and  Hesiod  sang  of  the  light,  bloodless,  and 
harmless  cicada.  In  modern  times,  Byron,  making  use  of 
the  Italian  name,  spoke  of  the  "shrill  cicalas."  The  males 
have  an  apparatus  for  the  production  of  musical  sounds,  while 
the  females  are  dumb  and  silent.  There  are  three  important 
species  in  Formosa ;  one  reddish,  another  green,  and  a  third 
large  and  black.  The  last,  the  Fidicina  altrata,  is  most  fre- 
quently seen.  The  female  deposits  her  eggs  on  the  branch  of 
a  tree.  In  due  time  little  grubs  are  hatched  and  creep  down 
the  bark  and  into  the  earth,  where  they  feed  on  the  juices  of 
roots  and   bulbs.     In  a  couple  of   months,  as  large,  living 


ANIMAL   LIFE  85 

beetles,  they  come  up  again,  earth-stained,  out  of  the  ground, 
and  climb  up  the  stem  of  a  tree,  very  often  a  banian.  Hav- 
ing selected  the  sunny  side,  the  beetle  crawls  on  a  fresh  green 
leaf,  forces  its  claws  through  it,  and  there  remains  with  its  back 
to  the  sun.  The  heat  of  the  sun  cracks  its  shell  between  the 
shoulders ;  a  whitish-looking,  soft-winged  creature  comes  out, 
leaves  its  coffin,  and  flies  away,  singing  "  Katy  did"  and 
"  Katy  didn't."  Its  after-life  continues  for  a  couple  of  weeks, 
and  then,  dizzy-like,  it  drops,  turns  over,  and  life  is  extinct. 
Its  little  course  is  soon  run. 

2.  The  praying  mantis.  What  a  misnomer!  The  "pray- 
ing "  is  really  waiting  in  that  attitude  in  which  he  can  seize  the 
prey  which  seldom  escapes  his  vigilant  glance.  This  insect  is 
savage  and  cannibalistic  in  habits.  A  large  female  came  near 
my  study-room  one  day.  She  was  captured  and  put  into  a 
paper  box  with  a  perforated  top.  I  watched  her  movements 
closely  and  soon  had  the  rare  privilege  of  seeing  her  deposit 
one  hundred  eggs  in  a  thick,  spongy  bag  which  she  produced 
and  affixed  to  the  side  of  the  box.  This  spongy  bag  hardened, 
and  in  a  fortnight  eight  dozen  small  cannibals  came  forth,  and 
were  soon  devouring  one  another  without  mercy.  These 
emptied  bags  are  seen  on  thousands  of  branches,  but  I  never 
met  a  native  who  knew  what  they  were. 

3.  Cockroach  [Blatta  orientalis).  In  summer  this  cockroach 
is  almost  as  common  as  the  house-fly.  It  is  found  among 
dishes,  in  bureaus,  and  on  sideboards.  One  night  at  eleven 
o'clock,  in  my  small  upper  room,  I  observed  a  cockroach 
moving  slowly  up  the  wall.  Suddenly  a  gecko  (chickchack) 
appeared  within  three  feet  right  above.  With  little  jumps  and 
sudden  movements  he  was  soon  close  to  the  cockroach — so 
close,  indeed,  that  he  grasped  the  left  wing  in  his  mouth. 
Then  he  began  to  pull,  shake  his  head,  and  show  other  signs 
of  pleasure.  Slowly  the  pair  were  moving  upward,  when  a 
small  lizard  appeared,  but  was  warned  by  very  significant  tail 


86  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

movements  to  stand  off.  Soon  the  cockroach  fell  from  his 
enemy's  grasp  and  tumbled  to  the  floor.  He  was  too  unwieldy 
for  that  active  little  chickchack. 

4.  Beetle.  There  are  several  species.  Chinese  boys  make 
a  very  ingenious  and  extraordinary-looking  toy  out  of  a  variety 
golden  in  color.  The  materials  used  in  its  construction  are  a 
string  about  three  feet  in  length,  a  tube  four  inches  long,  and 
a  stick  slightly  larger  than  an  ordinary  lead-pencil.  One  end 
of  the  cord  is  put  through  the  tube,  and  secured  there  by  a 
little  key  or  fastener,  so  as  to  rotate  without  twisting.  The 
other  end  is  attached  to  the  center  of  the  stick,  to  each  end 
of  which  there  is  tied  a  golden  beetle.  The  boy,  now  hold- 
ing the  tube  in  his  hand  at  arm's-length,  gives  the  beetles  an 
opportunity  of  exercising  their  wings.  Faster  and  faster  they 
go  on  their  miniature  merry-go-round,  until  they  appear  like  a 
yellow  circle.  Sometimes  the  effect  is  enhanced  by  fastening 
little  bits  of  bright-colored  delf  at  intervals  on  the  stick.  I  have 
seen  a  foreigner  give  a  Chinese  boy  a  dollar  for  an  exhibition 
of  this  plaything. 

5.  Grasshopper  [Acrida  viridissima).  There  are  numerous 
varieties.  One  large  green  kind,  which  might  indeed  be  called 
a  locust,  lays  its  eggs  on  paths.  The  female  makes  a  hole  the 
size  of  a  lead-pencil,  and  putting  her  body  down  into  it  deposits 
a  heap  of  eggs,  which  are  hatched  by  the  heat  of  the  sun. 

6.  Water-bug  [Nepidct). 

7.  Water-boatmen  [Notonectidci). 

8.  Bedbug  [Acanthia  lectularid). 

9.  Mole-cricket  [Gryllotalpa  vulgaris). 

10.  Field-cricket  {Grylhts  campestris). 

11.  Dragon-flies  [Libellulidce).  This  is  a  large  family.  One 
member  has  a  red  body  and  is  of  surpassing  beauty. 

12.  White  ants  [Termes).  They  are  not  ants,  but  Tertnis 
bel/icosi,  and  belong  to  the  order  Neuroptera^  while  the  true 
ants  belong  to  Hytnenoptera.     They  work  in  the  dark,  and  if 


ANIMAL   LIFE  87 

moving  from  place  to  place  on  the  surface  of  an  object  they 
invariably  construct  a  tunnel  or  incasement  of  earth  and  dust, 
with  a  passage  somewhat  larger  than  a  large  quill,  and  through 
this  they  pass  and  repass,  carrying  on  their  work  of  destruc- 
tion. They  are  extremely  destructive  of  all  kinds  of  wood- 
work. They  penetrate  and  riddle  the  large  beams  of  a  house 
from  end  to  end  in  a  few  months,  leaving  nothing  but  a  thin 
shell  on  the  outside  and  the  hard  heart  within.  When  they 
have  done  their  work  in  the  sill  of  a  house  there  remains  only 
a  crust,  sometimes  no  thicker  than  paper.  They  work  up 
through  board  floors,  pierce  the  bottoms  of  trunks,  puncture 
furniture  of  every  description,  leaving  the  outside  whole  and 
complete,  but  so  honeycombed  within  as  to  be  easily  crushed 
in  the  hand.  Once  we  left  a  chest  filled  with  clothes  in  our 
house  at  Tamsui  while  we  were  absent  for  two  months.  When 
we  returned  we  found  pecks  of  white  ants  in  it,  the  clothes  in 
shreds,  and  the  boards  of  the  chest  so  eaten  away  that  it  could 
not  resist  the  slightest  pressure. 

13.  Glow-worm  [Lampyris  noctiluca). 

14.  Death-watch  [Anobium  striatum).  This  insect  bores 
into  furniture  and  makes  a  ticking  noise. 

15.  Stag-beetle  [Lucanus). 

16.  Sacred  beetle  of  Egypt  (Scarabaus  sacer).  This  inter- 
esting creature  may  be  seen  almost  any  day  along  the  path- 
ways in  the  college  grounds.  It  is  small,  but  of  remark- 
able strength.  The  female  deposits  her  larvae  in  the  interior 
of  a  ball  about  the  size  of  a  plum,  made  out  of  the  excreta  of 
some  herbivorous  animal  such  as  the  ox.  When  this  ball  is  pre- 
pared it  is  transported  to  a  hole  already  excavated,  into  which 
it  is  rolled,  and  where  the  eggs  are  hatched  by  the  sun's  heat. 
The  living  creature  eats  its  way  out  of  the  ball  and  comes  out 
the  sacred  flying-beetle,  so  famous  in  Egyptian  mythology. 
The  transportation  of  tin's  ball,  sometimes  over  considerable 
distances,  is  a  very  interesting  sight.     All  principles  of  propul- 


88  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

sion  are  employed,  but  the  commonest  is  for  the  male  to  push 
the  ball  from  the  rear  with  his  hind  legs,  while  the  female  goes 
in  front  to  steer  its  course  and  assist  by  pulling. 

17.  Golden  beetle. 

18.  Tiger-beetle  {Cicindcla  campcstris). 

19.  Water-beetle  [Hydradephagd). 

20.  Whirligigs  [Gyrini). 

21.  Elater  or  skipjacks  (Elateridce). 

22.  True  ants.  Of  these  there  are  several  species.  One 
kind  makes  large  nests,  like  those  of  wasps,  in  a  tree ;  another 
raises  hillocks  on  the  ground ;  but  the  most  provoking  of  all  is 
a  tiny  brown  species.  Unless  the  legs  of  a  dining-table  are 
standing  in  bowls  of  water  it  is  impossible  to  keep  the  food 
from  being  literally  covered  by  the  ants.  Everywhere,  at 
every  corner  and  every  turn,  they  can  be  seen  during  the 
summer  months,  moving  in  long  lines. 

23.  Wasps  {Vespa). 

24.  Bees  {Apis).  Hives  are  kept,  but  bees  are  often  found 
in  nests  in  the  woods. 

25.  House-fly  {Musca  domestica). 

26.  Mosquito  {Culex pipiens).  The  female  alone  stings,  but 
so  efficiently  does  she  perform  this  service  that  there  is  not  a 
bed  in  the  emperor's  palace  or  the  beggar's  hut  that  is  not  fur- 
nished with  a  mosquito-curtain  to  protect  the  sleepers. 

27.  Hawk-moth  (Acherontia  atropos). 

28.  Clothes-moth  {Tinea  rusticelld).  So  destructive  is  this 
insect  that  a  second  suit  of  clothes  is  an  unprofitable  care. 

29.  Atlas-moth  (Atlaa/s  atlas).  I  procured  one  which 
measured  from  tip  to  tip  of  its  wings  nme  and  three  quarter 
inches,  and  of  exquisite  beauty. 

30.  Moon-moth  {Atlacus  lima). 

31.  Sphinx. 

32.  Walking-sticks  [Bacillus  na talis). 

33.  Incased  insects  [Psychidm). 


ANIMAL  LIFE  89 

34.  Fleas.     As  great  a  pest  as  anywhere  else  on  earth. 

35.  Lice. 

2,6.  Butterflies. 

(1)  Swallowtailed  (Papilio  machaon).  Numerous  and  beau- 
tiful. 

(2)  Peacock  butterfly  (Papilio  id). 

(3)  Leaf-butterfly  [Kallima  paralektd).  When  this  beautiful 
specimen  is  on  the  limb  of  a  tree  one  would  require  the  eye  of 
a  naturalist  to  distinguish  it  from  a  dead  leaf.  The  resem- 
blance is  almost  perfect,  alike  to  form,  color,  and  position. 

37.  Myriapod  (Jnlns  terrestris). 

38.  Centiped  (Scolopendra).  Next  to  venomous  serpents 
most  dreaded  by  the  natives. 

39.  Spider  (Araneind). 

40.  Earthworms. 

VI.  Moll u sea 

To  secure  the  glassy,  shiny  appearance  of  shells  we  place 
them  when  alive  in  the  ground.  In  a  few  days  they  are  re- 
moved and  thoroughly  washed.  Those  found  at  the  sea-shore 
dead  are  never  perfect,  for  the  water  and  sand  grind  and  wear 
off  the  external  coat.  These  animals  are  found  in  sand  and 
mud,  on  timber,  and  resting  on  seaweed  as  they  sail  the  sea. 

1.  Fountain-shell  (Strotnbns). 

2.  The  buckie  of  Scotland  (Fnsns  or  Cehrysodomus  antiquus). 
This  is  a  shell  in  which  the  sound  of  the  sea  is  always  heard. 

3.  Whelk  (Buccinnm  widatum).  This  has  a  rasp-pointed 
tongue,  with  which  it  bores  the  shells  of  other  mollusks  when 
in  search  of  a  delicious  breakfast. 

4.  Cone  [Conns  imperialis). 

5.  Cone  (Conns  anlicns). 

6.  Money-cowry  (Cyprcea  monetd). 

7.  Tiger-cowry  (Cyprcea  tigris). 

8.  Snail  (Helix  aspersd). 


9°  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

9.  Chiton  (Magnificus). 

10.  Oysters  (Ostreidce). 

11.  Pecten. 

12.  Mussel  [Mytilus  edutis). 

13.  Unio  littoralis. 

14.  Razor-fish  [Solen  vagina). 

15.  Limpet  [Patella  vulgata). 

16.  Boring-shell  (Pholas  dactylus). 

17.  Sea-urchin  [Echinus  esculent  us).  On  the  sea-coast  of 
Formosa  pickled  sea-urchins  are  used  as  a  condiment  with  rice. 

18.  Starfish  {Asterias  rubens). 

19.  Sea-anemone. 

20.  Hermit-crab  (Pagurus  bernhardus).  This  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  of  all  the  living  mollusks  on  the  sea-shore. 
The  fore  parts  are  furnished  with  claws  and  feelers  and  are 
partially  protected,  but  the  hinder  parts  are  soft,  sensitive, 
easily  injured,  and  entirely  defenseless.  The  hermit-crab  has 
no  home,  but  is  a  semi-parasite,  a  kind  of  sea  "  tramp."  It 
depends  on  finding  a  home  in  the  shell  of  some  dead  whelk 
or  other  mollusk.  I  have  often  watched  it  on  its  search  for  a 
suitable  shell.  One  would  be  too  large,  another  too  small,  a 
third  might  be  already  inhabited,  in  which  case  a  fight  for 
possession  sometimes  ensued.  When  a  satisfactory  one  was 
found  and  proved  to  be  untenanted,  the  crab  would  whisk  its 
unprotected  parts  into  it  and  march  off,  its  house  on  its  back, 
as  lordly  as  if  it  had  a  legal  right  to  undisturbed  possession. 

21.  King-crab  (Li/uutus  gigas).  This  resembles  the  ancient 
trilobite.  It  is  found  in  the  shallow  water  on  the  land  side  of 
Kelung  harbor. 

22.  "Holy-water  pot  "  (Tridacna  squamosa).  This  receives 
its  name  because  it  is  often  used  to  hold  the  consecrated  water 
in  Roman  Catholic  cathedrals  in  France  and  Italy.  There  is 
an  enormous  one  in  a  cathedral  in  Paris.  In  the  Malacca 
Straits  it  grows  to  a  large  size,  and  has  been  found  to  weigh 
several  hundred  pounds.     Large  ones  are  brought  in  junks  as 


ANIMAL   LIFE  91 

ballast  from  the  China  coast  to  Formosa,  but  smaller  ones  are 
found  around  the  island.  The  preparing  of  them  has  become 
quite  an  industry,  especially  in  the  city  of  Tek-chham.  The 
Chinese  use  a  toothless  hand-saw,  sand,  and  water,  as  granite- 
cutters  do  in  sawing  granite.  The  pieces  of  this  shell  which 
are  sawn  off  resemble  marble.  They  are  cut  as  desired,  three 
or  four  inches  thick,  ground  on  sandstone,  and  then  converted 
into  bracelets,  armlets,  and  other  ornaments  which  are  worn  by 
the  savages,  who  value  them  very  highly,  and  give  in  exchange 
rattan,  camphor,  dye-root,  and  pith. 

23.  Periwinkle. 

24.  Triton  (Triton  variegatum). 

25.  Trumpet-shell. 

26.  Conch-shell. 

27.  Cockle  (Cardiidce  edule). 

28.  Harp  (Harpa  ventricosa). 

29.  Thorny  woodcock  (Murex  tenuispinus). 

30.  Trochus  {Trochus  Nilotic  us). 

31.  Scallop  (Pecten  maxim  us). 

32.  Haliotis  tuberculata. 

33.  Sea-acorn  shells  (Balanus  sulcatus). 

34.  Lobster  (Homarus  vulgaris).  Large  ;  bluish  green  when 
alive ;  a  reddish-brown  color  when  boiled. 

35.  Shrimp  {PaZcemon  vulgaris). 

36.  Pea-crab  (Pinnotheres  pisum). 

37.  Paper-nautilus  (Argonauta  argo).  It  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive of  anything  more  lovely  than  this  thin,  translucent,  boat- 
shaped  shell,  which  is  propelled  by  water  ejected  from  its 
funnel. 

38.  Octopus  (Octopus  vulgaris). 

39.  Sepiidaz  [Sepia  officinalis).  "  Cuttlebone,"  which  is  placed 
in  the  cages  for  canary-birds,  is  the  calcareous  internal  shell 
of  this  animal. 

40.  Pearly  nautilus  (Nautilus  pampilius).  Its  mouth  is  like 
a  parrot's  beak,  the  outside  white,  with  brown  stripes. 


CHAPTER   IX 


ETHNOLOGY    IN    OUTLINE 


Two  classes — The  dominant  race — Ethnological  table — The  aborigines 
Malayan — Traditions — Foreign  opinion — Migration — Habits  and 
customs — I^eatures — Linguistic  differences 

THE  inhabitants  of  North  Formosa  may  be  classified  as  be- 
longing to  either  one  of  two  great  races ;  the  aborigines, 
both  civilized  and  savage,  are  Malayan,  the  Chinese  are  Mon- 
golian. To  be  sure,  there  are  "  foreigners  "  from  Europe  and 
America ;  but  their  number  is  so  small,  and  the  part  they  play 
in  the  life  of  the  island  so  inconsiderable,  that  they  may  be 
excluded  from  our  present  reckoning.  The  two  great  classes 
have  not  to  any  extent  mingled,  and  so  there  is  no  mixed  race 
on  the  island.  The  purpose  of  this  chapter  is  not  an  exhaustive 
study,  but  rather  to  set  forth  in  outline  the  ethnology  of  North 
Formosa,  and  to  indicate  the  argument  in  support  of  the 
opening  statement  classifying  the  people  as  either  Malayan  or 
Mongolian. 

The  dominant  race,  first  in  numbers,  intelligence,  and  influ- 
ence, is  the  Chinese.  They  do  not  present  any  problem  of 
difficulty  to  the  ethnologist,  as  their  origin  and  racial  relations 
are  easily  traced.  They  are  immigrants,  or  the  children  of  those 
who  in  earlier  years  crossed  the  Formosa  Channel  from  the 
thickly  populated  provinces  of  the  mainland.  They  brought 
with  them  their  habits  of  life  and  their  household  gods.  They 
found  the  island  wooded  down  to  the  water's  edge,  and  the 

92 


ETHNOLOGY  IN   OUTLINE  93 

home  of  tribes  of  wild,  roaming  savages,  whose  appearance  was 
strange  to  them,  and  whose  speech  was  nule  and  barbarous. 
Their  entrance  was  disputed  at  every  point,  but  their  greater 
numbers  and  superior  skill  prevailed.  The  savages  were 
driven  back  out  of  some  of  the  richest  plains ;  rice-farms  and 
tea-plantations  took  the  place  of  forest  tangle  and  wild  plateau ; 
the  rude  hamlets  of  another  race  vanished;  towns  and  cities 
with  their  unmistakable  marks  of  the  "  Middle  Kingdom  "  took 
their  place ;  and  the  Chinese  became  a  superior  power  in  For- 
mosa. They  are  in  the  main  industrious  and  aggressive,  show- 
ing all  the  characteristics  of  their  race,  and  retaining  their 
ancestral  modes  of  life  and  worship.  The  large  majority  have 
emigrated  from  the  Fu-kien  province,  and  speak  what  is  called 
the  Amoy  dialect.  These  are  called  Hok-los.  A  few  are  the 
descendants  of  a  tribe  who  moved  from  the  north  of  China  and 
settled  in  parts  of  the  Canton  province,  whence  they  afterward 
crossed  to  Formosa.  These  are  called  Hak-kas  ("  strangers  "), 
with  distinct  forms  of  life  and  language. 

The  Chinese  call  all  the  aborigines  of  the  island  barbarians, 
and  classify  them  according  as  they  live  in  the  plains  or  on  the 
mountains,  and  according  as  they  have  resisted  or  submitted 
to  Chinese  rule.  In  a  large  plain  on  the  east  coast  are  those 
who  have  acknowledged  Chinese  authority  and  adopted  their 
mode  of  worship  ;  these  are  called  "  Pe-po-hoan  "  ("barbarians 
of  the  plain  ").  In  a  second  plain  farther  down  the  coast  is 
another  settlement  of  aborigines ;  these  are  called  "  Lam-si- 
hoan  "  ("  barbarians  of  the  south  ").  Unsubdued  mountaineers 
they  call  "  Chhi-hoan  "  ("  raw  barbarians  ").  A  few  who  have 
settled  among  the  Chinese  in  the  west  are  called  "  Sek-hoan  " 
("ripe  barbarians").  These  names  are  all  Chinese,  and  indi- 
cate the  relations  of  the  dominant  race  to  the  aborigines.  Now 
that  Japan  has  possession  of  the  island  a  new  element  will  be 
introduced.  The  relations  of  the  Japanese  to  the  present 
inhabitants  cannot  as  yet  be  set  forth,  but  the  indications  are 


94  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

that  they  will  treat  the  aborigines  with  fairness.    The  following 
table  will  show  the  ethnology  of  the  people : 

Mongolian  Malayan 

Chinese  Aborigines 


I  II  I  I.I 

Hok-los     Hak-kas        Pe-po-hoan     Sek-hoan     Lam-si-hoan     Chhi-hoan 


The  classification  of  all  the  aboriginal  tribes  as  Malayan 
may,  however,  be  regarded  as  an  open  question,  and  proof  of 
the  statement  may  be  demanded.  There  are  several  reasons 
which  have  forced  me  to  the  conclusion  that  they  are  all  descen- 
dants of  settlers  from  the  islands  around  the  Malay  Archipelago, 
and  these  I  now  submit. 

i.  Aboriginal  Tradition. — I  have  picked  up  at  first-hand 
from  various  tribes  traditions  which  support  the  contention 
that  they  are  of  Malayan  origin.  One  is  that  their  forefathers 
came  from  a  southerly  direction ;  that,  being  in  boats,  they  were 
wrecked  ;  that  they  lived  near  the  sea  on  level  ground,  and  after- 
ward, when  others  came,  moved  inward  even  over  the  moun- 
tain-ranges; that  they  caught  fish  and  turtle,  entrapped  the 
wild  boar,  shot  the  deer  with  bow  and  arrow,  were  clothed  in 
deerskins,  reckoned  the  time  by  tying  knots  on  the  stem  of  a 
tall  grass,  and  when  their  numbers  in  any  one  place  increased 
to  upward  of  one  hundred  or  two  hundred  they  moved  a  little 
distance  away,  cleared  the  ground,  and  called  themselves  the 
"other  village,"  "south  village,"  "new  village,"  or  "large 
village."  Their  houses  were  made  of  reeds,  rattan,  and  bam- 
boo. New-comers,  bringing  knives  and  similar  utensils,  pre- 
sented them  to  the  head  men,  and  afterward,  when  the  Chinese 
put  in  an  appearance,  they  exchanged  skins  and  horns  of  deer 
for  guns,  powder,  and  knives.  They  remembered  the  coming 
of  the  "red-headed  kinsmen,"  who  treated  them  kindly,  and 
with  whom  they  had  free  mercantile  intercourse.     These  the 


ETHNOLOGY  IN   OUTLINE  95 

Chinese  drove  out  and  began  to  make  settlements  themselves. 
Hatred  sprang  up,  and  head-hunting,  which  was  prosecuted  by 
their  fathers  in  their  ancestral  home,  was  resorted  to. 

There  is  a  second  tradition  and  a  memorial  custom  which 
point  to  the  same  conclusion.  On  the  Ki-lai  plain,  on  the  east 
coast,  where  the  Lam-si-hoan  are  settled,  two  canoes  are  kept 
to  commemorate  the  coming  of  their  fathers  to  the  island.  As 
one  shows  marks  of  decay  it  is  renewed  or  replaced.  They  are 
kept  under  a  thatched  cover  in  the  open  plain  not  far  from  the 
sea.  Once  a  year  the  Lam-si-hoan  assemble  and  carry  these 
canoes  to  the  water's  edge,  when  a  number  of  their  men  enter 
them,  paddle  out  a  short  distance,  and  return.  Then  with  re- 
joicings the  canoes  are  restored  to  shelter.  The  Lam-si-hoan 
declare  that  their  forefathers  came  in  similar  canoes  from  places 
south  and  east  of  Formosa,  and  this  custom  is  intended  to  pre- 
serve that  tradition. 

At  Lam-hong-o,  a  Pe-po-hoan  village  near  So  Bay,  men  of 
eighty  years  of  age  told  me  how  in  the  days  of  their  grand- 
fathers forty  or  fifty  strong  fishermen  took  a  dislike  to  the 
rainy  weather  in  the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain  and  longed  for  their  old 
home.  They  lashed  planks  together  and  formed  rude  boats, 
in  which  they  set  out  in  a  southerly  direction,  bound  for  their 
fatherland.  My  informants  wrere  of  the  opinion  that  their 
ancestral  home  was  one  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 

At  Sin-sia  the  villagers  assert  that  their  forefathers  came,  not 
from  the  islands,  but  from  the  mainland  of  China,  and  were 
non-Mongolian.  It  is  certain  that  only  one  other  village  in 
the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain  speaks  the  same  dialect  as  Sin-sia,  and 
these  two  villages  recognize  each  other  as  kin,  and  are  so 
looked  upon  by  all  the  rest.  It  is  entirely  probable  that  they 
are  descended,  as  they  claim  to  be,  from  the  aboriginal  tribes 
still  found  on  the  mainland  of  China. 

2.  Consensus  of  Foreign  Opinion. — Travelers  see  in  the  various 
tribes  of  Formosa  the  features  and  manners  of  the  inhabitants 


96  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

of  Luzon,  Polynesia,  the  Malay  Peninsula,  the  islands  of  Loo- 
choo,  Sunda,  and  Borneo,  and  of  Siam  and  Yunnan ;  and  there 
is  great  unanimity  of  opinion  that  the  aborigines  of  Formosa  are 
descendants  of  emigrants  from  the  Malay  Peninsula  and  the 
islands  of  the  China  Sea.  It  is  contended  by  some,  however, 
that  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Formosa  were  of  the  negro 
race,  and  that  they  were  driven  back  into  the  mountains  by  the 
Malayans.  I  cannot  admit  the  contention,  as  I  have  failed  to 
find  the  slightest  trace  of  the  negrito  element,  nor  is  the  pres- 
ence within  the  mountains  of  such  a  people  suspected  by  any 
known  tribe.  I  have  made  careful  inquiries  among  the  moun- 
tain tribes  near  Ta-kow  in  the  far  south,  among  the  tribes  at 
Po-sia  Lake  in  the  center,  and  among  more  than  a  dozen  tribes 
in  the  north,  as  well  as  among  the  Pe-po-hoan  and  Sek-hoan,  and 
everywhere  I  received  the  same  reply.  They  were  all  positive 
that  there  were  no  woolly-headed  races  within  the  mountains 
or  anywhere  else  in  the  island.  Superficial  observers  frequently 
make  strong  assertions.  Indeed,  I  was  told  a  few  years  ago 
that  a  white  tribe,  finely  developed  and  with  grayish  eyes,  was 
to  be  found  among  the  mountains.  So  persistent  was  the  con- 
tention that  I  resolved  to  put  it  to  the  proof.  Making  my  way 
into  the  place  where  they  were  said  to  dwell,  instead  of  the 
descendants  of  the  Dutch,  I  found  short-set,  brown-featured, 
black,  lank-haired  Malayans. 

3.  Natural  Migration. — The  ocean  current  that  sweeps  be- 
tween Sunda,  Java,  and  Sumatra  on  the  one  side  and  Borneo 
on  the  other  runs  north  through  the  China  Sea  and  between 
Formosa  and  the  mainland.  Another  current  sweeps  between 
Borneo  and  Celebes,  through  the  Celebes  Sea,  and  touches 
the  north  Pacific  current,  which  runs  as  a  black  stream  (Kuro 
Siwa)  across  to  the  eastern  side  of  Formosa.  This  ocean  cur- 
rent would  very  easily  and  naturally  carry  mercantile  boats 
and  fishermen  in  their  smacks  from  the  islands  in  the  Malay 
Archipelago  to  the  shores  of  Formosa.     Indeed,  examples  of 


ETHNOLOGY  IN   OUTLINE  97 

such  migration  have  taken  place  within  my  own  time.  Some 
years  after  my  arrival  in  Formosa  strange-looking  outriggers 
sailed  into  the  harbor  of  Kelung.  In  them  were  a  number  of 
famished  boatmen  with  tattoo  marks  from  head  to  foot.  They 
were  kindly  treated,  and  in  the  course  of  time  were  taken  to 
1  long  Kong,  and  thence  conveyed  to  their  home  on  the  Pelew 
Islands.  Not  infrequently  boat-loads  from  the  Loo-choo 
Islands  are  wrecked  on  the  shore  of  Formosa. 

4.  Habits  and  Customs. — The  habits  and  customs  of  the 
aborigines  of  Formosa  will  be  referred  to  at  length  in  subse- 
quent chapters.  Suffice  it  to  say  here  that  in  nearly  every 
point  they  bear  a  marked  resemblance  to  the  habits  and  cus- 
toms of  the  aborigines  of  Borneo.  The  tattoo  marks  follow  the 
same  well-established  pattern.  Their  dress  and  ornaments  are 
similar,  and  their  houses  suggest  a  common  architecture.  Like 
Malay  Islanders,  they  worship  their  ancestors,  and  within  the 
mountains  they  have  the  unmistakable  head-hunting  proclivities 
of  the  Dyaks  of  Borneo. 

5.  Physical  Features. — The  Chinese  in  Formosa  are  round- 
headed,  the  aborigines  medium  between  long  and  broad. 
The  sutures  or  lines  where  the  bones  of  the  skull  are  united,  I 
find  in  the  skulls  of  the  young  to  be  only  slightly  traced ;  the 
skull  has  the  appearance  of  a  round  ball  or  bone.  This  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  islanders  belonging  to  the  lower  races.  So, 
too,  prognathism  or  projection  of  the  jaws — "  maxillary  angle," 
"  facial  angle  " — points  to  kinship  with  the  islanders  of  the 
Malay  type.  The  hair  is  round,  thus  showing  that  in  its  pos- 
sessor there  is  no  trace  of  the  woolly-headed  race.  Its  color  is 
black,  identical  with  the  Malayan.  The  eyes  are  Malayan  in 
color,  and  the  nose  conforms  to  the  same  type. 

It  may  be  objected  that  the  various  aboriginal  tribes  cannot 
have  had  a  common  origin  inasmuch  as  they  now  speak  differ- 
ent dialects.  Linguistic  differences,  however,  are  not  conclu- 
sive.     Scandinavians    in    Caithness,    Finland,    Orkney,    and 


98  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

Iceland  speak  dialects  or  languages  quite  different  from  their 
kinsmen  in  Norway  and  Sweden.  Different  circumstances  ex- 
plain the  difference.  Similar  changes  have  taken  place  among 
the  Chinese  in  Formosa.  A  mainland  man  can  be  told  at 
once  from  his  Formosan  cousin,  and  the  "  Kap-tsu-lan  twang  " 
marks  the  Chinese  in  that  plain.  In  like  manner  crews  and 
passengers  from  the  Malay  Islands,  shipwrecked  at  intervals  on 
the  coast  of  Formosa,  would  be  absorbed  by  the  larger  com- 
munity already  settled  there,  and  would  acquire  the  dominant 
dialect;  and  where  tribes  have  been  isolated,  with  no  means 
of  intercommunication,  and  with  tribal  enmities  keeping  them 
separate,  modifications  and  changes  in  their  language  are  to 
be  expected.  Such  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  Highland 
settlements  in  Canada,  where  the  grandchildren  of  the  pioneers 
are  entirely  ignorant  of  the  much-loved  Gaelic  of  their  fore- 
fathers. An  interesting  instance  came  under  my  notice  in  one 
of  the  Kap-tsu-lan  villages  where  we  have  a  church.  There  is 
there  a  man  who  was  shipwrecked  on  that  coast.  Years  before, 
he,  with  others,  started  in  a  boat  from  the  Philippine  Islands. 
They  passed  Bashee  and  were  driven  out  of  their  course  and 
upon  the  shore  of  Formosa,  and  he  alone  survived  to  tell  the 
tale.  He  was  able,  however,  to  understand  a  few  words  of  the 
dialect  of  the  aborigines  among  whom  he  landed.  He  soon 
learned  the  Pe-po-hoan  dialect,  and  was  subsequently  married 
to  a  Pe-po-hoan  wife,  and  became,  to  all  intents  and  purposes, 
Pe-po-hoan. 

The  foregoing  seems  to  me  a  cumulative  argument,  irresis- 
tible and  conclusive,  that  numerous  adventurers,  fishermen,  and 
traders  from  the  islands  south  and  east  of  the  China  Sea,  and 
others  from  the  north  and  east  of  Formosa,  with  perhaps  a  few 
from  the  mainland,  entered  the  island  at  intervals,  and  formed 
what  is  now  called  the  aboriginal  race,  and  that  that  race  is 
Malayan. 


AMONG  THE  CHINESE 


99 


CHAPTER   X 

THE    PEOPLE 

Chinese  in  Formosa — The  Hok-los — The  Hak-kas — The  language — The 
"  barbarians  " 

THERE  are  nearly  three  million  Chinese  on  the  island.  Of 
these  about  one  million  are  in  the  four  districts  served  by 
the  Mission  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada.  They  are 
divided  into  two  classes,  the  Hok-los  and  the  Hak-kas.  The 
Hok-los  comprise  seven  eighths  of  the  Chinese  population  in 
North  Formosa.  They  are  emigrants,  or  the  children  of  emi- 
grants, from  the  Fu-kien  province,  opposite  the  island.  After 
Koxinga,  the  Chinese  pirate,  drove  the  Dutch  out  of  Formosa, 
that  rich  and  beautiful  island  was  opened  up  for  Chinese  emi- 
gration, and  became  an  outlet  for  the  overcrowded  province  of 
Fu-kien.  They  found  it  inhabited  by  aboriginal  tribes  who, 
though  they  were  friendly  to  the  Dutch,  resisted  the  aggressive- 
ness of  the  Chinese.  Gradually  the  Chinese  crowded  these 
aborigines  back  into  the  mountains,  and  they  themselves  now 
occupy  the  large  and  fertile  plains  on  the  north  and  west.  Be- 
sides those  who  have  made  their  home  on  the  island,  between  ten 
and  twenty  thousand  come  over  every  year  from  Amoy  to  en- 
gage in  the  tea  industry.  Of  these  a  percentage  remain.  The 
Chinese  in  Formosa  have  all  the  marks  of  their  countrymen  in 
Fu-kien,  except  that  emigration  has  done  its  work  in  changing 
somewhat  their  customs  and  point  of  view.  They  speak  the 
Amoy  dialect.  The  women  bind  their  feet  and  wear  the  same 
dress  as  those  in  Amoy. 


102  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

The  Hak-kas  ("strangers  ")  are  supposed  to  be  descendants 
of  a  tribe  that  emigrated  from  North  China  into  the  Fu-kien 
province  and  subsequently  into  Canton.  There  are  about  one 
hundred  thousand  of  them  in  North  Formosa.  They  are  brave 
and  vigorous,  and  have  fought  their  way  both  on  the  mainland 
and  in  Formosa.  The  women  do  not  bind  their  feet,  and  as  a 
result  are  stronger  and  more  robust  than  their  Hok-lo  sisters. 
They  help  their  husbands  on  the  farm  and  in  all  outside  work, 
and  are  remarkably  industrious.  In  consequence  of  this  the 
Hak-kas  will  thrive  and  become  wealthy  where  the  Hok-los 
would  fail  and  the  aborigines  would  starve.  They  are  found 
mainly  in  towns  and  hamlets  in  the  Sin-tiak  and  Biau-lek 
districts,  and  are  the  pioneers  in  the  border-land  between  the 
Chinese  and  the  savages.  They  speak  a  dialect  of  the  Can- 
tonese. The  younger  generation  learn  the  Hok-lo  dialect,  and 
in  time  the  Hak-kas  may  become  extinct. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  written  language  in  For- 
mosa, as  throughout  the  Chinese  empire,  is  everywhere  the 
same,  although  the  spoken  language  is  so  varied.  It  is  not 
easy  for  a  Westerner  to  understand  this.  The  written  characters 
remain  fixed  and  represent  the  same  ideas  to  all  the  Chinese, 
but  the  names  of  these  characters  are  different  in  the  different 
provinces  of  China.  Not  only  so,  but  in  Formosa  there  are 
really  two  languages  to  be  learned,  the  pronunciation  of  the 
characters  by  the  literary  class  being  entirely  distinct  from 
the  colloquial.  For  instance,  the  character  representing 
"man  "  is  pronounced  "jin  "  by  the  literary  class  and  "  lang  " 
by  the  masses.  There  are  no  declensions  or  conjugations  in 
Chinese,  their  place  being  taken  by  the  "tones,"  of  which 
there  are  eight  in  the  Formosan  vernacular.  A  word  that  to 
an  English  ear  has  but  one  sound  may  mean  any  one  of  eight 
things  according  as  it  is  spoken  in  an  abrupt,  high,  low,  or 
any  other  of  the  eight  "  tones."  Each  one  of  these  "  tones  " 
is  represented  by  a  written  character ;  hence  there  are  upward 


THE   PEOPLE  103 

of  sixty  thousand  written  characters  in  the  language.  There 
are  numerous  other  variations  and  complications  which  make 
the  learning  of  the  Chinese  language  no  simple  task.  A  sharp 
ear,  a  ready  tongue,  and  a  strong  imitative  faculty  are  requisite 
for  proficiency  in  public  speech.  Many  foreigners  never  be- 
come proficient  in  speaking  the  language,  but  may  be  none  the 
less  useful  in  other  departments  of  service. 

The  Chinese  in  Formosa  have  great  contempt  for  the 
aborigines,  and  treat  them  very  much  as  the  Americans  have 
treated  the  Indian  tribes,  bartering  with  them,  cheating  them, 
and  crowding  them  back  into  their  mountain  strongholds.  The 
aborigines  in  the  plains,  whom  they  call  "  Pe-po-hoan,"  the 
Chinese  regard  with  more  favor  than  they  do  the  savages, 
but  they  are  gradually  dispossessing  them  and  forcing  them 
back  into  territory  to  be  reclaimed  from  the  mountain  tribes. 


CHAPTER   XI 

GOVERNMENT    AND    JUSTICE 

Form  of  government — The  cue — Formosa  a  province — Official  corruption 
— Injustice  in  the  yamen — "  Mandarin  eats  cash  " — Forms  of  punish- 
ment— Money  all-powerful — "  Ridding  up  " — Punishment  by  proxy 
— Oppression  of  Christians 

THE  government  of  China  is  patriarchal.  The  emperor 
is  in  theory  the  father  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  million 
Chinese.  The  present  emperor,  Kong-su,  is  ninth  in  the  line 
of  the  Tartar  dynasty,  which  succeeded  the  Ming  dynasty  in 
1644.  The  first  emperor  of  the  Tartar  dynasty  was  Sun-ti,  who 
belonged  to  Manchuria.  One  of  his  "reforms "  was  the  intro- 
duction of  the  cue.  All  Chinese  men  were  compelled  to  shave 
the  forehead  and  dress  the  hair  in  a  long  braid,  according  to 
the  Manchurian  custom.  The  cue  was  made  the  badge  of 
fealty  to  the  emperor,  and  not  to  wear  it  is  to  endanger  one's 
head.  Westerners  are  slow  to  learn  that  the  cue  has  no  reli- 
gious or  superstitious  significance,  but  is  purely  political.  It  is 
the  "  old  flag  "  of  the  Chinese  empire,  the  mark  of  loyalty  to 
the  reigning  dynasty.  The  people  have  become  accustomed 
to  it,  and  what  was  once  a  disgrace  is  now  regarded  with  pride. 
A  Chinese  without  a  cue  is  a  traitor  and  a  rebel.  When  this 
fact  comes  to  be  known  by  self-respecting  people  in  the  West 
the  emblem  of  Chinese  loyalty  will  cease  to  be  regarded  with 
ridicule,  and  the  offensive  "pigtail"  will  be  blotted  out  of 
English  literature. 

104 


GOVERNMENT  AND  JUSTICE  105 

Theoretically  the  emperor  rules  China,  but  practically  the        ' 
affairs  of  the  empire  are  managed  by  six  boards,  which  appoint 
all  the  higher  officials  in  the  various  provinces. 

After  Koxinga  was  dethroned,  in  1683,  Formosa  became  a 
dependency  of  the  Fu-kien  province.  In  1887  it  was  raised  to 
the  rank  of  a  province  of  the  empire,  and  a  governor  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  imperial  authorities  at  Peking,  as  in  the  other 
provinces.  Under  the  governor  were  four  officials,  who  had 
rule  over  the  four  districts  into  which  North  Formosa  was 
divided.  Under  these  magistrates  others  of  lower  grade, 
having  jurisdiction  over  smaller  sections,  were  appointed,  and 
subordinate  to  these  again  were  local  officials  and  head  men, 
whose  authority  was  correspondingly  reduced.  All  these 
superior  officials  were  from  the  mainland,  but  the  head  men 
usually  belonged  to  North  Formosa.  All  these  magistrates 
have  judicial  as  well  as  governing  powers.  The  administration 
of  justice  is  in  the  hands  of  the  governor  and  his  underlings. 
Each  subordinate  official  holds  his  office  at  the  will  of  the 
next  above  him.  The  income  attached  to  any  of  the  offices  is 
not  sufficient  to  support  the  retinue  which  must  be  maintained. 
As  a  result  there  is  universal  official  corruption.  From  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  every  Chinese  official  in  Formosa  has  an 
"itching  palm,"  and  the  exercise  of  official  functions  is  always 
corrupted  by  money  bribes.  The  mandarin  supplements  his 
income  by  "squeezing"  his  attendants  and  every  man  who 
comes  within  his  grasp.  His  attendants  have  the  privilege  of 
recouping  themselves  by  "squeezing"  all  who  through  them 
seek  favors  from  the  mandarin.  In  the  matter  of  bribing  and 
boodling  the  Chinese  official  in  Formosa  could  give  points  to 
the  most  accomplished  office-seekers  and  money-grabbers  in 
Washington  or  Ottawa. 

The  chief  opportunity  for  corruption  is  afforded  in  connec- 
tion with  the  administration  of  justice.  The  yamen  or  court- 
house   is    the    scene    of   unmitigated    lying,    scheming,    and 


106  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

oppression.  The  mandarin  comes  in  his  sedan-chair,  attended 
by  his  retinue.  He  takes  his  seat  on  the  dais  in  the  yamen. 
At  his  right  stands  his  interpreter,  an  indispensable  function- 
ary, inasmuch  as  the  mandarin,  being  a  mainland  man,  is  not 
supposed  to  know  the  local  dialect.  On  either  side,  in  two 
rows  facing  each  other,  stand  the  constables,  and  near  at  hand 
the  lictors  and  executioners.  The  yamen  is  crowded  by  friends 
of  the  litigants  and  the  rabble  from  the  street.  There  are  no 
lawyers  or  counsel,  and  no  trial  by  jury.  The  mandarin  has 
everything  in  his  own  hands.  He  sits  in  state,  clothed  with  the 
awful  authority  of  the  "  dragon  "  throne.  The  case  in  hand  is 
presented,  and  the  accused  kneels  before  the  judgment-seat, 
the  picture  of  abject  humility.  The  mandarin  examines  him 
through  his  interpreter : 

Mandarin.   "  Ask  him  if  his  name  is  Lim." 

Interpreter.  "  The  Great  Man  asks  you  if  your  name  is 
Lim." 

Accused.   "  The  little  child's  name  is  Lim." 

Interpreter.   "  His  name  is  Lim." 

Mandarin.  "  Ask  him  if  he  is  guilty  of  the  charge  made 
against  him." 

Interpreter.  "  The  Great  Man  asks  if  you  are  guilty  of 
the  charge  made  against  you." 

Accused. '"The  little  child  would  not  dare  to  do  such  a 
thing." 

And  so  the  case  goes  on.  Sometimes  witnesses  are  called ; 
this,  however,  is  optional  with  the  mandarin,  who  is  subject  to 
other  influences  than  the  weight  of  evidence.  The  "  almighty 
dollar"  turns  the  scale  of  justice.  The  financial  strength  of 
the  litigants  and  of  their  friends  has  been  inquired  into,  and 
the  one  who  sends  in  the  largest  amount  of  sycee-silver  is 
certain  to  get  the  verdict  in  his  favor.  To  be  sure,  all  this  is 
sub  rosa.  There  is  the  greatest  parade  of  righteous  judgment, 
and  a  hint  at  bribery  would  be  shocking.     But  the  people  all 


GOVERNMENT  AND  JUSTICE  107 

know  the  facts.  They  have  a  saying  commonly  applied  to 
their  officials  :  "  Koa  chiah  chi  "  ("  The  mandarin  eats  cash  "). 

The  magistrate  has  arbitrary  power  in  the  matter  of  punish- 
ment. The  sentence  depends  not  a  little  on  the  humor  the 
mandarin  may  be  in,  but  much  more  on  the  size  of  the  bribe 
paid.  The  most  common  sentence  is  the  fine,  and  this  is 
graded  according  to  the  ability  of  the  culprit  to  pay  and  ac- 
cording to  the  fee  privately  given  the  judge. 

The  next  punishment  is  smiting  on  the  cheeks.  This  is  often 
administered  to  false  witnesses ;  indeed,  it  often  happens  that 
a  witness  whose  evidence  is  not  pleasing  to  the  mandarin  is 
immediately  beaten.  The  Great  Man  expresses  his  displeasure 
at  the  evidence,  and  the  constables  lay  hold  of  the  witness  by 
the  cue  and  turn  up  his  face  to  the  lictor,  who  gives  him  the 
appointed  number  of  blows.  If  the  witness  continues  obstinate 
in  his  evidence  he  may  be  beaten  again  and  again. 

Another  punishment  is  the  "bamboo."  The  culprit  is 
stripped  by  the  constables  under  the  eye  of  the  mandarin,  and 
receives  on  the  thighs  from  ten  to  one  thousand  blows  with  the 
bamboo  cudgel.  Sometimes  the  punishment  is  inflicted  at  in- 
tervals, as  the  "  cat-o'-nine-tails  "  in  the  West.  The  "bam- 
boo "  is  always  painful,  and  at  times  the  flesh  is  lacerated  and 
mortification  sets  in,  which  ends  the  victim's  life. 

The  cangue  is  an  instrument  of  humiliation  as  well  as  pain. 
It  is  formed  out  of  heavy  oak  planks,  is  nearly  three  feet 
square,  with  a  hole  in  the  center,  and  is  worn  on  the  neck  in 
a  public  place  for  a  month  or  two,  in  some  instances  both  day 
and  night. 

Imprisonment  for  a  limited  time  or  for  life  is  a  common 
sentence.  The  prison  is  always  a  dark,  dirty  dungeon,  where 
tortures,  illegal  according  to  Chinese  law,  but  cruelly  real  in 
Chinese  practice,  are  inflicted  to  extort  money  from  the 
prisoners  and  their  relatives. 

Decapitation  is  inflicted  for  murder,  theft,  incendiarism,  and 


108  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

other  grave  offenses.  The  burglar  or  firebug  gets  no  mercy. 
Ordinarily  it  is  a  swift  stroke  from  a  sharp  two-handed  sword. 
In  the  case  of  parricide  the  culprit's  body  is  literally  hacked  to 
pieces. 

Pirates  are  punished  by  having  their  hands  tied  behind  to 
a  post  facing  the  glaring  sun,  and  their  upper  eyelids  cut  off. 
After  several  days  of  this  torture  they  are  beheaded  in  the 
most  excruciatingly  painful  manner. 

In  all  these  cases  money  wields  all-powerful  influence.  It 
corrupts  the  mandarin  in  his  judgment,  the  lictors  and  execu- 
tioners in  carrying  out  the  sentence,  and  the  local  officials  in 
disposing  of  the  bodies  of  the  dead.  The  lictor  has  his  oppor- 
tunity to  "  squeeze  "  when  the  sentence  is  the  "  bamboo,"  the 
blows  being  heavy  or  light  according  to  the  bribe.  The  exe- 
cutioner carries  out  the  death-sentence  deftly  in  a  short,  swift 
stroke  or  with  prolonged  torture  according  to  the  money  paid. 

I  witnessed  the  execution  of  four  soldiers  condemned  for 
burglary.  One  was  on  his  knees,  and  in  an  instant  the  work 
was  done.  Three  blows  were  required  for  the  second.  The 
head  of  the  third  was  slowly  sawed  off  with  a  long  knife.  The 
fourth  was  taken  a  quarter  of  a  mile  farther,  and  amid  shouts 
and  screams  and  many  protestations  of  innocence  he  was  sub- 
jected to  torture  and  finally  beheaded.  The  difference  in  the 
bribe  made  the  difference  in  the  execution. 

So  manifestly  corrupt  is  the  whole  system,  and  so  difficult  is 
it  to  bring  influential  criminals  to  justice,  that  a  periodical 
"ridding  up"  is  necessary.  The  imperial  authorities  at  Pe- 
king every  ten  or  twelve  years  appoint  some  high  official,  with 
power  over  all  provincial  magistrates,  to  go  through  the  em- 
pire and  examine  into  long-standing  grievances.  This  storm 
of  justice  clears  the  air,  and  has  done  not  a  little  to  prolong 
the  life  of  the  Chinese  empire.  I  happened  to  be  in  Tek- 
chham  once  when  this  "  avenger  of  blood  "  was  making  his 
rounds.     There  lived  near  the  city  a  local  magistrate  who  for 


GOVERNMENT  AND  JUSTICE  109 

many  years  had  oppressed  and  imposed  upon  the  farmers  and 
fishermen  in  his  locality,  lie  was  always  able  to  bribe  the 
superior  magistrates,  and  was  carrying  on  his  extortions  with 
impunity.  When  it  was  known  that  the  imperial  official 
would  visit  Tek-chham  a  petition  was  prepared  complaining  of 
the  local  magistrate's  conduct.  As  these  poor  people  would 
not  presume  to  enter  the  Great  Man's  presence,  they  availed 
themselves  of  the  privilege  of  constructing  an  effigy  or  "  grass 
man  "  on  the  side  of  the  road,  in  whose  hands  they  placed 
their  petition.  When  the  judicial  cortege  passed  that  way, 
attendants,  seeing  the  "  dummy,"  brought  the  document,  and 
the  official  read  the  appeal  as  he  was  carried  along.  On  ar- 
riving at  Tek-chham  he  made  inquiries,  and  finding  the  com- 
plaints true  he  summoned  the  magistrate.  Everything  was 
prearranged.  The  magistrate  prostrated  himself  before  the 
high  official,  but  while  he  protested  that  "  the  little  child  would 
not  dare  to  do  such  a  thing,"  a  signal  was  given,  and  without 
warning  the  executioner  severed  his  head  from  his  body.  This 
had  fine  effect  on  the  community  and  on  other  magistrates. 

Criminals  are  sometimes  punished  by  proxy.  If  the  guilty 
party  cannot  be  found,  or  if  he  can  bribe  the  magistrate,  some 
careless  fellow  can  easily  be  procured  to  suffer  the  punishment. 
A  little  "cash"  will  do  it.  Once  when  complaint  had  been 
made  that  a  certain  man  had  plundered  one  of  our  chapels, 
the  mandarin  at  Bang-kah  reported  to  the  British  consul  that 
the  man  was  under  arrest.  With  several  students  I  accom- 
panied the  consul  to  the  yamen.  No  sooner  had  we  entered 
than  a  man  was  brought  in  wearing  a  cangue.  I  at  once  saw 
that  he  was  not  the  right  man.  When  the  consul  told  the 
mandarin  that  this  was  not  the  man  charged  with  the  offense 
he  confessed  that  it  was  a  case  of  proxy,  but  argued  that  by 
punishing  this  man  the  real  culprit  would  be  so  afraid  that  the 
moral  influence  would  be  quite  as  salutary.  Another  instance 
happened  at  Sa-teng-po,  on  the  way  to  Kelung,  where  the 


no  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

chapel  was  ransacked  by  runners  of  the  mandarin.  Com- 
plaint having  been  made,  the  mandarin  investigated  the  case, 
and  two  men  soon  appeared  before  the  chapel  wearing  the 
cangue.  I  was  staying  there  at  the  time  with  my  students.  It 
was  an  open  secret  that  these  men  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
case,  but  were  bribed  to  wear  the  cangue  for  six  weeks.  We 
treated  them  kindly,  and  in  wet  weather  allowed  them  to  come 
inside  the  chapel,  and  in  other  ways  relieved  them.  They  did 
not  forget  this  kindness,  and  years  afterward,  when  the  mob 
howled  after  me  in  the  streets  of  Bang-kah,  one  of  these  men 
stood  up  in  my  defense. 

My  first  experience  of  the  duplicity  and  unrighteousness  of 
the  yamen  was  in  the  second  year  of  my  work.  A  merchant 
at  Chiu-nih,  a  large  village  near  Bang-kah,  had  heard  me 
preach  at  other  points,  and  invited  me  to  his  village  and  gave 
a  room  for  a  preaching-hall.  The  work  grew  wonderfully,  and 
soon  the  country  for  many  miles  around  became  interested,  and 
on  the  Sabbath  packed  the  hall  and  the  street.  Among  the 
converts  was  a  teacher  and  his  aged  father.  As  the  work 
grew  the  enemy  became  more  enraged  and  insolent  toward  the 
converts.  A  prominent  clansman  forcibly  seized  the  teacher's 
small  rice-fields,  and  the  head  man  refused  to  give  redress. 
The  teacher  and  his  father  prepared  an  appeal  to  the  mandarin 
at  Bang-kah.  But  meanwhile  their  enemies  had  forestalled 
them  and  prejudiced  the  minds  of  the  yamen  men,  telling 
them  that  the  whole  country  around  was  in  rebellion,  joining 
the  "  barbarian."  A  plot  was  laid.  When  the  teacher  and 
his  father,  accompanied  by  six  other  converts,  one  of  whom 
was  my  friend  the  merchant,  presented  themselves  before  the 
mandarin  in  the  yamen,  and  when  the  old  man  was  on  his 
knees  before  the  judge,  he  was  told  by  the  Great  Man  that 
it  was  insolent  and  disloyal  to  forsake  the  religion  of  their 
fathers  and  to  follow  the  "barbarian."  Then  the  plot  was 
revealed.     All  at  once  the  constables  shouted,  rushed  hither 


GOVERNMENT  AND  JUSTICE  i  l  i 

and  thither,  caught  the  Christians  by  the  cues,  jostled  them,  and 
holding  up  long  knives  in  the  air,  they  rushed  to  the  mandarin, 
crying,  "  The  converts  brought  these  knives  to  assassinate 
you."  The  mandarin  pretended  to  be  furious,  and  gave  orders 
to  shut  the  doors  and  chain  the  prisoners.  One  of  these  was 
a  boy,  the  son  of  the  teacher,  but,  being  under  sixteen,  was 
allowed  to  go  ;  his  little  companion  was  chained  along  with  the 
others.  They  were  all  dragged  to  the  prison,  and  put  in  the 
stocks  in  the  darkest  dungeon.  Mock  trials  were  held,  during 
which  they  were  compelled  to  kneel  on  red-hot  chains.  Again 
and  again  they  were  bambooed  and  otherwise  tortured.  They 
were  then  taken  down  seven  days'  journey  to  Tai-wan-fu 
and  imprisoned.  The  teacher  and  his  father  were  dragged  out 
one  morning  to  the  execution  ground.  The  son's  head  was 
chopped  off  before  his  father's  eyes.  The  old  man  was  then 
executed,  and  the  two  heads  were  put  into  buckets  and  carried 
slowly  back  to  Bang-kah.  All  along  the  way  and  at  every 
stopping-place  the  crier  called  to  the  multitude  to  see  the  fate 
of  those  who  followed  the  "  barbarian."  A  poster  with  the  in- 
scription "Jip  kon-e  lang  than  "  ("  Heads  of  the  Christians") 
was  fastened  over  the  buckets.  In  this  way  they  succeeded  in 
terrorizing  the  people.  The  heads  were  finally  put  on  the 
gates  of  the  city  of  Bang-kah.  The  others  of  the  party  were 
brought  back  to  Bang-kah  and  imprisoned.  Two  of  them 
died  from  torture  and  starvation.  The  merchant  lived  eight 
years  longer,  during  which  time  he  continued  faithful  to  Christ 
and  ceased  not  to  exhort  other  prisoners  to  accept  the  Saviour. 
At  first  it  was  very  difficult  for  me  to  receive  letters  from  him. 
Several  were  sent  inclosed  in  small  bamboo  quills.  After  some 
years  the  strictness  was  relaxed  and  I  received  letters  from  him 
regularly.  The  substance  of  all  was  this :  "  I,  Tan  Su-bi,  be- 
lieve all  things — heaven  and  earth,  angels  and  men — were 
created  by  the  great  God.  I  believe  our  Saviour  Jesus  be- 
came man  and  died  for  Su-bi.     I  believe  God  loves  me  in 


H2  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

prison,  and  his  Holy  Spirit  gives  me  comfort  and  keeps  me 
cheerful.  I  thank  God  that  the  gospel  came  to  Tamsui." 
The  last  letter  closed  with  these  words :  "  I  believe  Jesus  my 
Saviour  has  power  to  save  me  and  give  me  eternal  life."  He 
died  shortly  afterward.  The  instigators  and  participants  were 
never  brought  to  justice,  but  years  after  they  all  confessed  the 
plot  and  that  the  Christians  were  entirely  innocent. 

This  is  only  one  instance  of  the  corruption  and  inhumanity 
of  officialdom,  and  of  the  violence  and  injustice  inflicted 
upon  Christians  in  North  Formosa,  witnessed  during  the  past 
twenty-three  years. 


Formosa  Aborigines  Eating  Rice. 


Ill 


■ 


m 


i"T 


A  Village  in  Eastern  Formosa. 


CHAPTER    XII 

INDUSTRIAL    AND    SOCIAL    LIFE 

Movement  cityward — Chief  centers — Industrial  classes — Farming — The 
pig  a  pet — Home  life  in  the  country — Education — A  Chinese  school 
— A  graduate — Theaters,  plays,  and  actors — Amusements — Horse- 
manship— A  novel  device — Woman — Marriage — Betrothal — Break- 
ing a  betrothal — First  Christian  marriage — Change  in  public  opinion 

THE  Chinese,  like  the  Anglo-Saxons,  are  gregarious.  There 
is  a  tendency  to  gather  together  and  to  live  in  towns  and 
cities.  In  Formosa  this  movement  gains  headway  by  reason 
of  the  protection  which  it  secures.  With  savages  in  the  moun- 
tains not  far  away,  and  with  desperate  characters  of  all  sorts 
watching  their  chance  for  plunder,  the  isolation  of  rural  life  is 
not  very  desirable.  Life  in  town  is  thought  to  be  safer,  if  not 
pleasanter,  than  in  the  country,  and  even  country  people  them- 
selves often  live  in  close  proximity,  grouping  their  dwellings 
into  little  villages  and  hamlets.  A  dozen  or  a  score  of  families 
may  live  together,  the  men  carrying  on  their  farming-operations 
in  the  neighborhood. 

The  three  largest  cities  in  North  Formosa  are  Bang-kah, 
with  a  population  of  forty-five  thousand;  Tek-chham,  with  a 
population  of  thirty-five  thousand  ;  and  Toa-tiu-tia,  with  a  pop- 
ulation of  thirty  thousand.  Five  other  centers — Tiong-kang, 
Sek-khau,  Sin-po,  Sa-kiet-a-koe,  and  Ba-nih — have  each  a  popu- 
lation exceeding  ten  thousand.  There  are  a  great  many  towns, 
a  still  greater  number  of  large  villages,  and  innumerable  ham- 
lets and  peasants'  homes. 

113 


H4  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

In  the  cities  and  towns  all  classes  of  workmen  and  traders 
are  to  be  found.  All  work  is  done  by  hand.  The  hum  of 
machinery  is  never  heard.  A  list  of  workmen  would  include 
blacksmiths,  carpenters,  cabinet-makers,  undertakers,  idol- 
carvers,  silversmiths,  jewelers,  workers  in  pewter  and  brass, 
implement-makers,  locksmiths,  weavers,  tailors,  dyers,  shoe- 
makers, masons,  stone-cutters,  brickmakers,  lime  and  charcoal 
burners.  Traders  and  merchants  of  all  sorts  have  their  shops 
and  expose  their  wares.  The  silk  merchants  are  important,  and 
fruit  and  fish  merchants  do  a  thriving  trade.  Skilled  workmen 
are  paid  from  thirty  to  forty  cents  per  day.  Ordinary  workmen 
earn  not  more  than  twenty-five  cents.  They  are  generally 
economical,  and  their  expenses  are  light  when  compared  with 
the  expenses  of  workmen  in  Western  lands.  But  their  life  is 
often  empty  and  mean. 

The  farmer  is  not  only  more  important  than  the  mechanic 
or  the  merchant,  he  is  also  more  highly  esteemed.  He  is 
looked  upon  as  being  the  real  producer,  and  his  work  is  more 
honorable  than  that  of  him  who  merely  handles  his  goods  and 
passes  them  on  to  the  consumer.  Farms  are  small  and  are  all 
under  cultivation.  Rice  has  long  been  the  chief  among  farm 
products.  In  a  subsequent  chapter  on  rice-farming  the  cul- 
ture of  this  cereal  is  fully  explained.  Tea-culture  is  now  be- 
coming important,  and  Formosa  tea  is  already  a  popular 
beverage  in  Britain  and  America.  The  large  plateau  to  the 
southwest  of  Tamsui,  that  twenty  years  ago  was  a  meadow 
broken  in  upon  by  little  rice-farms,  is  now  a  magnificent  tea- 
plantation.  This  industry  gives  employment  every  year  to 
thousands  of  people,  many  of  whom  are  brought  from  the 
mainland.  Sugar-cane,  sweet  potatoes,  and  a  little  wheat  are 
cultivated.  Onions,  leek,  celery,  spinach,  cucumbers,  water- 
melons, a  Chinese  white  cabbage,  and  other  garden  stuffs  are 
grown.  The  indigo  and  camphor  industries  are  increasing  in 
importance.     The  Chinese  farmer,  like  the  Pe-po-hoan  in  the 


INDUSTRIAL   AND  SOCIAL   LIFE  115 

Kap-tsu-lan  plain,  uses  the  ox  for  dry  plowing  and  the  water- 
buffalo  in  the  miry  rice-fields.  The  plow,  harrow,  hoe,  and 
sickle  are  his  implements,  and  the  ox,  water-buffalo,  and  pig 
his  stock.  He  brings  all  his  produce  in  baskets  to  the  town, 
and  offers  it  for  sale  in  an  open  space  in  the  street.  Failing  to 
dispose  of  his  supply  in  this  way,  he  may  hawk  the  remainder 
about  the  streets. 

The  pig  is  a  great  pet  among  the  Chinese.  It  is  always  to 
be  found  about  the  door,  and  often  has  free  access  into  the 
house.  In  our  missionary  journeys  we  frequently  found  our- 
selves room-mates  of  an  old  black  pig  with  her  litter  of  little 
ones.  The  affection  of  an  Englishman  for  his  dog  is  scarcely 
stronger  than  the  affection  of  a  Chinese  for  his  pig.  Foreign- 
ers in  China  should  remember  this,  and  not  thoughtlessly  excite 
enmity  and  antagonism.  Not  long  after  my  arrival,  when  in 
my  house  at  Tamsui,  I  heard  loud  voices  and  hurried  tramp- 
ing in  the  street  in  front.  On  opening  the  door  I  saw  several 
European  sailors,  from  a  ship  lying  at  anchor  in  the  harbor, 
running  in  wild  haste  down  the  street  toward  me.  As  they 
came  near,  one  of  them,  mad  with  rage,  asked  if  I  had  a  gun. 
They  were  followed  by  a  mob  that  seemed  to  be  furious  and 
eager  to  overtake  them.  I  directed  the  sailors  down  a  narrow 
lane,  by  which  they  escaped  to  their  ship.  Turning  to  the 
crowd,  I  asked  the  cause  of  the  disturbance.  They  replied 
that  the  sailors  had  been  striking  the  pigs  belonging  to  one  of 
their  families  with  their  walking-sticks.  The  people  were  very 
indignant,  and  had  they  overtaken  the  sailors  there  would 
have  been  trouble.  I  appeased  them  by  the  assurance  that 
should  the  offenders  misbehave  again  complaint  would  be 
made  to  the  authorities. 

Farming  in  Formosa  is  very  hard  work,  and  only  by  strict- 
est economy  can  it  be  made  even  fairly  remunerative.  Some 
farmers  own  the  land  they  work,  but  the  majority  rent.  In- 
deed, more  than  half  of  the  cultivated  land  in  North  Formosa 


n6  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

belongs  to  one  man,  who  rents  to  others,  the  rent  being  paid 
generally  in  produce.  These  tenant-farmers  frequently  live  all 
their  days  in  the  same  place.  The  sons  marry  and  still  con- 
tinue to  live  in  the  old  home  with  their  parents,  two  and  some- 
times three  generations  occupying  the  same  house  at  the  same 
time.  They  are,  on  the  whole,  hard-working,  honest,  reliable, 
and,  as  men  go,  moral.  The  peasants  are  indeed  the  best 
class  in  the  community,  instances  of  immorality  being  rare. 
Among  themselves  they  are  very  friendly  and  sociable,  the 
social  chat  of  an  evening,  or  what  my  Highland  ancestors 
called  a  "  ceilidh,"  being  quite  characteristic  of  rural  society. 
Education,  as  they  understand  it,  is  not  by  any  means 
neglected  among  the  Chinese.  It  is  more  than  a  thousand 
years  since  competitive  literary  examinations  were  established 
throughout  the  empire,  and  those  who  succeed  in  passing  these 
examinations  have  always  been  the  most  honorable  class  in 
Chinese  society.  They  are  not  only  socially  the  superiors  of 
all  others,  but  from  among  them  appointments  are  made  to  all 
the  chief  positions  of  influence  and  power.  Parents  are  there- 
fore very  anxious  to  have  their  sons  educated.  There  is  in 
Formosa  no  system  of  public  instruction  such  as  now  exists 
in  the  more  advanced  States  of  the  American  Union  or  the 
provinces  of  Canada.  The  competitive  examinations,  held  by 
the  government  in  the  fu  cities,  provincial  capitals,  or  in 
Peking,  according  to  the  degree,  are  conducted  with  tiresome 
attention  to  form  and  details.  The  Four  Books  are  the  text- 
books, and  some  saying  of  Confucius  or  Mencius  the  theme 
of  their  essays.  Without  describing  the  system,  which  is  very 
elaborate,  it  may  be  said  that  the  higher  degrees  can  scarcely 
be  obtained  by  any  who  have  not  more  than  ordinary  ability, 
and  the  physical  strain  of  preparation  and  examination  very 
frequently  wrecks  the  health  of  the  student.  The  percentage 
of  the  successful  competitors  is  very  small,  but  the  reflex  influ- 
ence of  this  wide-spread  interest  in  education  is  very  powerful. 


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INDUSTRIAL  AND   SOCIAL   LIFE  117 

The  unsuccessful  candidates  for  the  highest  degree,  and  the 
graduates  holding  lower  degrees,  constitute  the  literary  class. 
They  are  the  teachers,  and,  being  generally  poor,  their  services 
may  be  obtained  for  very  little  financial  remuneration.  They 
find  employment  in  the  families  of  the  rich  or  in  teaching  the 
village  school.  Rich  men  frequently  pay  the  salary  of  a 
teacher  for  the  children  of  their  poorer  neighbors.  Ordinarily 
the  teacher  secures  a  room  and  arranges  with  the  parents  in 
the  locality  to  have  their  children  taught,  the  fees  going  to  pay 
the  teacher. 

A  Chinese  school  is  the  scene  of  great  industry  and  of  great 
noise.  The  students  all  study  aloud,  and  their  shrill  drawling 
voices  make  a  disagreeable  babel.  The  text-books  are  the 
Chinese  classics,  and  the  parents  have  no  cause  of  complaint 
on  the  score  of  frequent  change.  The  books  never  change 
from  century  to  century.  The  characters  are  first  learned ;  but 
it  is  purely  mechanical  work,  not  the  slightest  attention  being 
paid  to  the  meaning  of  the  words.  The  book-language  is 
entirely  different  from  the  vernacular,  and  the  boy  has  to 
commit  to  memory  pages,  and  even  whole  books,  without 
understanding  anything  of  their  significance.  After  years  of 
such  severe  work  the  boys  begin  to  prepare  definitely  for  the 
competitive  examinations.  There  is  nothing  really  educative 
in  the  system.  Unconsciously  the  style  and  sentiments  of  the 
books  are  absorbed,  but  originality,  in  either  thought  or  expres- 
sion, is  not  only  undesirable,  but  utterly  impossible. 

When  a  young  man  succeeds  in  passing  the  examinations 
for  even  the  lowest  degree,  preparations  on  a  most  elaborate 
scale  are  made  at  his  home  for  honoring  him  on  his  return. 
No  one  but  an  eye-witness  can  imagine  the  scene.  A  feast  is 
prepared,  theatrical  performers  are  often  engaged,  a  procession 
goes  out  to  meet  the  graduate,  who  affects  all  the  airs  ima- 
ginable, and  his  conceit  is  swollen  beyond  endurance.  His 
swagger  is  supercilious  to  the  point  of  silliness.    To  recognize 


nS  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

his  old  companions  is  a  condescension  for  which  they  feel  ex- 
tremely grateful.  The  whole  performance  tends  to  make  these 
graduates  the  most  obnoxious  of  all  the  people  one  meets. 

Mention  has  just  been  made  of  theatrical  performances,  and 
it  should  be  said  that  theatrical  entertainments  among  the 
Chinese  are  very  different  from  those  with  which  foreigners  are 
familiar.  The  actors  as  a  class  are  numerous  enough,  but 
there  are  no  opera-houses  or  halls  erected  for  entertainment 
purposes.  These  shows  in  Formosa  are  almost  invariably  ex- 
hibited on  a  platform  in  the  open  air,  and  generally  are  asso- 
ciated with  idolatry.  In  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  temple 
plays  are  most  frequently  performed.  No  admission  fee  is 
charged,  the  expense  of  the  show  being  borne  by  previous  sub- 
scription, or  defrayed  by  some  wealthy  citizen.  There  is  not 
much  art  in  a  Chinese  play ;  to  a  foreigner,  indeed,  it  appears 
absurd  and  dreary.  The  motif  is  generally  patriotic.  Histori- 
cal or  fictitious  scenes  are  presented,  in  which  some  rebel  or 
traitor  is  the  "  villain,"  and  after  much  intrigue,  sedition,  and 
other  crimes  against  the  government,  he  is  arrested,  condemned, 
and  punished.  This  kind  of  play  is  patronized  by  the  govern- 
ment as  tending  to  inspire  the  common  people  with  respect  and 
awe  for  the  emperor  and  his  representatives.  Love,  marriage, 
and  murder,  to  be  sure,  are  the  stock  in  trade  of  Chinese  play- 
wrights, and  virtue  is  always  rewarded,  while  vice  is  as  surely 
punished.  The  costumes  of  the  actors  are  exceedingly  ridicu- 
lous, and  the  way  in  which  they  "speak  the  speech"  would 
excite  the  disgust  of  less  particular  personages  than  Shake- 
speare, and  make  the  "town  crier"  an  artist  in  comparison. 
Everything  is  spoken  in  a  shrill  falsetto  drawl,  and  accom- 
panied with  such  endless,  excessive,  and  excited  action  that 
Hamlet's  judgment  that  "some  of  nature's  journeymen  had 
made  men,  and  not  made  them  well,  they  imitated  humanity  so 
abominably,"  would  seem  to  have  special  reference  to  Chinese 
players.     In  truth,  the  text   of  the  play,  being  in  the  book- 


INDUSTRIAL   AND   SOCIAL   LIFE  119 

language,  is  very  imperfectly  understood  by  the  audience;  and 
were  it  not  for  the  colloquial  "asides"  and  the  explanations 
given  by  knowing  ones  to  those  about  them,  the  performance 
would  indeed  be  a  "  dumb  show  "  to  most  of  the  auditors.  I 
have  frequently  stood  in  the  crowd  and  watched  the  players, 
and  sometimes  they  would  give  spice  to  their  parts  by  a  refer- 
ence to  the  "  black-bearded  stranger."  There  are  no  actresses 
in  these  companies,  the  parts  of  female  characters  being  taken 
with  remarkable  skill  by  men.  The  social  standing  of  actors 
is  low,  but  probably  as  high  as  their  merit  or  their  morals 
deserve. 

Puppet-shows  are  very  popular  among  almost  all  classes  of 
people,  and  are,  in  their  way,  decidedly  clever.  Kite-flying 
among  the  Chinese  is  a  science  compared  with  any  like  exhibi- 
tion seen  in  Western  lands.  The  children  have  their  tops, 
which  they  handle  with  exceptional  skill,  and  their  jackstones, 
which  never  lose  their  popularity. 

Boat-racing  is  a  common  sport,  and  at  Bang-kah  I  once 
witnessed  an  exhibition  of  military  horsemanship,  that  regularly 
draws  immense  crowds  of  spectators.  The  horses  are  run 
singly  in  a  long  trench  several  feet  high,  without  bridle  or 
saddle.  They  are  trained,  and  are  eager  for  the  race.  The 
rider  carries  a  bow  and  arrow,  and  the  object  of  the  game  is 
to  shoot  at  a  target  set  up  on  one  side  of  the  trench  near  the 
end  of  the  course,  after  the  principle  of  the  game  of  tent- 
pegging.  The  horses  require  little  urging  once  they  enter  the 
trench.  A  curious  custom  is  slitting  the  horses'  nostrils  to  in- 
crease their  speed.  Jockeys  observed  that  after  the  race  a 
horse  seemed  to  have  great  difficulty  in  breathing,  and  this 
extra  puffing  they  supposed  was  caused  by  an  insufficient  es- 
cape for  the  air  from  the  lungs.  To  relieve  this  difficulty,  and 
to  add  to  the  racer's  speed,  the  nostrils  are  slit  open. 

Among  the  Chinese  in  Formosa  the  position  of  woman  is 
higher  than  among  pagan  and  savage  races,  but  immeasurably 


120  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

lower  than  in  Christian  lands.  The  birth  of  a  daughter  is  no 
occasion  for  rejoicing,  if,  indeed,  it  be  not  regarded  as  a 
calamity.  The  inferiority  of  woman  to  man  is  not  an  open 
question.  She  is  regarded  as  useful,  but  her  death,  even  when 
a  wife  and  mother,  is  trivial  compared  with  the  loss  of  a 
brother  or  son.  As  she  advances  in  years,  however,  she  is 
treated  with  more  respect,  and  in  old  age  compensation  is 
sometimes  made  for  the  neglect  of  earlier  years. 

Marriage  is  in  every  way  encouraged,  not  so  much  as  a 
satisfaction  for  cherished  affections  and  a  fulfilment  of  social 
instincts,  but  in  order  to  obtain  male  posterity,  who  shall 
guard  the  graves  of  the  dead  and  minister  to  the  needs  of  the 
departed  spirits  of  their  ancestors.  The  bearing  of  this  is 
shown  in  a  subsequent  chapter  dealing  with  Chinese  religious 
life.  The  social  aspect  of  the  question  is  one  of  the  most  per- 
plexing problems  facing  the  advocates  of  reform. 

Marriage  is  arranged  by  the  parents  of  the  contracting 
parties,  without  regard  to  the  feelings  and  preferences  of  the 
parties  themselves.  A  third  party — a  match-maker  or  go- 
between — is  a  most  important  character.  Through  her  the 
arrangements  are  made.  Prenatal  betrothal  is  rare,  but  not 
by  any  means  unknown.  The  betrothal  of  children  under  ten 
years  of  age  is  more  common,  but  the  general  age  for  a  girl  is 
between  fifteen  and  twenty.  The  most  common  method  is  for 
the  parents  to  purchase  a  young  girl  and  bring  her  up  in  their 
own  home  to  be  a  wife  for  their  son.  This  is  much  cheaper, 
as  she  earns  more  than  she  costs,  and  no  gifts  or  money  need 
be  paid  her  parents  at  the  marriage.  In  such  a  case  the  girl 
is  called  Sim-pu,  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  family,  but  too 
often  is  treated  with  great  harshness  and  cruelty. 

Parents  may  choose  out  a  suitable  wife  for  their  son,  and  it 
frequently  happens  that  the  son  agrees  in  the  selection  and  is 
delighted  with  his  betrothed.  But  human  nature  is  the  same 
the  world  over,  and  sometimes  the  Chinese  young  man  does 


INDUSTRIAL  AND   SOCIAL   LIFE  121 

not  take  kindly  to  his  parents'  choice.  *  If  the  girl  has  been 
brought  up  with  him  in  his  home  he  may  come  to  love  her, 
and  not  to  marry  her  would  be  a  real  grief.  But  should  his 
wayward  fancy  fly  far  from  home  and  picture  maidens  fairer 
than  the  drudge  of  his  mother's  kitchen,  he  may  refuse  to  ac- 
cept his  betrothed  wife,  and  if  so  he  will  find  some  way  of 
evading  the  domestic  arrangement  and  the  custom  of  his 
country.  It  is  looked  upon  as  a  calamity  for  the  betrothal  to 
be  broken  off,  and  it  is  believed  dire  calamities  are  sure  to 
visit  the  family  of  one  who  violates  so  venerable  a  custom. 
Young  men  sometimes  run  the  risks,  however,  and  follow 
affection  rather  than  custom. 

An  instance  of  the  breaking  up  of  an  early  betrothal  came 
under  my  notice,  illustrative  of  both  the  old  and  the  new  order 
of  things.  At  Go-ko-khi,  where  our  first  chapel  was  built, 
there  lived  a  man  of  great  local  influence,  named  Tan  Phauh. 
He  was  a  powerfully  built  man,  who  had  been  through  sev- 
eral rebellions  on  the  mainland,  and  was  not  used  to  having 
his  plans  thwarted  by  anybody.  His  services  in  connection 
with  the  establishing  of  our  first  church  are  told  hereafter. 
He  was  a  loyal  Chinese,  and,  although  he  became  one  of  our 
earliest  converts,  he  never  was  unpatriotic  or  disloyal  as  a  cit- 
izen. There  lived  with  the  family  a  girl  who  was  betrothed  to 
his  second  son.  She  was  a  good,  hard-working  girl,  and  was 
kindly  treated,  and  really  loved  as  a  daughter.  The  whole 
family  became  Christian,  and  this  son  joined  my  class  of 
students  and  traveled  with  us,  preparing  himself  for  the  min- 
istry. Association  with  other  students,  and  college  life  at 
Tamsui,  widened  his  horizon  and  greatly  developed  his  intel- 
lectual powers.  He  began  to  think  for  himself,  and  self-con- 
sciousness developed  independence.  His  ideals  were  enlarged 
and  his  standards  of  life  changed.  The  thought  of  his  be- 
trothal began  to  be  burdensome.  He  had  nothing  against  the 
girl,  but  she  was  not  his  ideal,  and  he  could  not  cherish  for  her 


122  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

the  "  supreme  affection  for  one  "  that  philosophers  call  love. 
She  was  uneducated,  and  took  no  interest  in  the  larger  subjects 
and  ambitions  that  now  fired  his  soul.  Under  such  circum- 
stances young  men  who,  thinking  themselves  in  love,  voluntarily 
entered  into  an  engagement  without  the  advice  or  knowledge 
of  their  parents  have  been  known  to  fret  and  become  discon- 
tented. Poor  Theng  cannot,  then,  be  blamed  for  fretting  over 
a  betrothal  to  which  he  was  not  a  party,  made  years  before  he 
understood  or  cared.  On  the  occasion  of  one  of  his  visits 
home  the  question  of  his  marriage  to  Sim-pu  was  raised,  and 
he  distinctly  refused.  He  did  not  love  the  girl  and  could  not 
marry  her.  The  grief,  disappointment,  and  anger  of  his  parents 
were  almost  beyond  control.  They  were  Christians,  but  the 
custom  was  an  old  one,  and,  besides,  they  loved  Sim-pu.  The 
father  went  to  bed  and  stayed  there  till  his  anger  cooled.  The 
mother  felt  even  more  strongly.  I  visited  them  and  reasoned 
with  them,  explaining  the  nature  and  terms  of  Christian  mar- 
riage, and  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  on  the  subject.  The  eld- 
est son  agreed  with  me,  and  thought  his  brother  should  be 
allowed  to  choose  for  himself.  The  younger  son  stood  by  the 
venerable  social  custom,  and  wanted  to  know  what  kind  of  a 
lady  Theng  would  like  for  a  wife,  that  he  should  refuse  one 
whom  they  all  loved  so  much.  But  Theng  was  unmoved.  In 
the  struggle  between  love  and  custom  the  tender  passion  pre- 
vailed. He  would  not  give  his  hand,  for  he  could  not  give  his 
heart.  The  girl  felt  badly,  for  she  had  had  her  day-dreams. 
Theng  married  a  girl  he  loved,  and  Sim-pu  married  a  young 
farmer  living  a  few  miles  away.  The  old  man  often  told  me 
that  only  Christianity  and  the  grace  of  God  could  reconcile 
him  to  his  son's  action.  The  girl  did  not  cherish  any  hard 
feelings,  as  she  would  have  done  were  she  not  a  Christian. 
When  passing  near  where  she  lived,  she  insisted  on  my  visiting 
her  new  home,  and  her  welcome  to  myself  and  the  students  who 
were  with  me  had  no  suggestion  of  animosity  or  secret  regret. 


INDUSTRIAL   AND   SOCIAL   LIFE  I  -\; 

Marriage,  according  to  Chinese  law,  is  consummated  by 
the  exchange  of  necessary  documents  between  the  parents  of 
the  prospective  bride  and  groom.  No  license  is  required,  and 
no  one  is  authorized  to  perform  the  ceremony.  There  are 
endless  social  preliminaries,  formalities,  and  ceremonies,  and 
on  the  marriage  day  the  bride  is  carried  from  her  own  home 
to  the  home  of  the  groom,  and  there  with  him  bows  before 
the  ancestral  tablet  of  the  family.  Feasting  and  tablet-worship 
mark  the  occasion. 

It  was  at  Go-ko-khi,  the  first  station  established  in  the 
country,  that  the  first  Christian  marriage  was  celebrated.  •  The 
formal  documents  were  exchanged,  complying  with  the  law  of 
the  land,  and  then  the  ordinance  of  marriage  according  to 
Christian  form  and  teaching  was  performed.  The  young  man 
belonged  to  the  clan  Tan,  and  was  twenty-five  years  of  age ; 
the  bride  was  of  the  clan  Ti,  and  was  in  her  seventeenth  year. 
He  could  not  possibly  marry  one  of  his  own  clan.  To  do 
that  would  be  to  violate  the  most  sacred  and  inflexible  cus- 
tom. Such  a  thing  as  the  marriage  of  two  persons  having  the 
same  surname  is  not  known  among  the  Chinese. 

The  news  that  the  missionary  was  about  to  perform  a  mar- 
riage ceremony  spread  rapidly  through  the  region ;  and  the 
whole  neighborhood  became  excited,  alarmed,  and  enraged. 
The  wildest  stories  were  told :  "  She  is  going  to  be  the  mis- 
sionary's wife  for  a  week;"  "The  missionary  is  to  kiss  her 
first;"  "  Her  own  eyes  are  to  be  taken  out  and  others  put  in 
their  places;"  "The  amount  to  be  paid  the  missionary  will 
ruin  the  family." 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  marriage  day  a  great  crowd  gath- 
ered at  the  bridegroom's  house.  After  a  long  wait  music 
was  heard  in  the  distance,  and  the  children  began  shouting, 
"  They're  coming,  they're  coming  !  "  Presently  a  sedan-chair 
with  an  old  woman,  the  go-between,  appeared,  and  immedi- 
ately behind  a  larger  and  more  beautiful  one,  draped  with  red 


124  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

cloth.  Then  came  twenty-five  pairs  of  bearers  carrying  pres- 
ents of  all  descriptions  in  tables  turned  upside  down  and 
suspended  from  poles  borne  on  the  bearers'  shoulders.  Fire- 
crackers and  squibs  kept  up  an  incessant  noise,  doing  honor  to 
the  occasion.  The  bride's  chair  halted  before  the  door,  and  the 
bridegroom,  dressed  as  gorgeously  as  though  he  were  a  great 
official,  stepped  forward  and  removed  the  front  part  of  the 
chair,  and  led  his  bride,  whom  he  saw  that  hour  for  the  first 
time,  into  the  house.  They  were  then  called  out  into  the 
courtyard,  where  hundreds  of  excited  spectators — the  majority 
of  whom,  of  course,  were  women — crowded  every  available 
space,  eager  to  witness  the  ceremony.  A  Christian  woman 
acted  as  bridesmaid,  and  the  groom  was  supported  by  a  native 
preacher.  I  then  addressed  the  people  on  the  institution  of 
marriage  as  ordained  by  God  and  sanctified  by  Christ,  and 
emphasized  the  importance  of  monogamy  and  mutual  respect 
and  forbearance.  The  contracting  parties  were  then  ex- 
horted, the  "  vows  "  put,  and  they  were  pronounced  husband 
and  wife. 

As  soon  as  the  service  was  over  the  young  couple  were  taken 
back  into  the  house.  In  view  of  the  suspicions  of  the  people, 
I  deemed  it  prudent  to  take  leave  at  once,  and  set  out  with 
the  students  to  the  nearest  chapel.  In  a  few  days  the  report 
of  the  Christian  marriage  spread  far  and  wide,  and  now  the 
missionary  was  praised  as  liberally  as  he  had  previously  been 
blamed.  The  Christian  ceremony  was  pronounced  everything 
that  was  beautiful  and  good,  and  during  all  succeeding  years, 
although  I  not  only  performed  the  ceremony  hundreds  of 
times,  but  also  waited  for  the  subsequent  festivities,  and  even 
accepted  invitations  to  heathen  households,  no  unjust  insinua- 
tions were  ever  again  made,  or  anything  said  against  the 
morality  of  Christian  marriage. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

CHINESE    RELIGIOUS    LIFE 

Heathenism  in  Formosa — Gods  and  goddesses  innumerable — A  new  can- 
didate— Praying  with  divining-blocks — Idol-making  industry — Wip- 
ing out  devotional  arrearages — An  offering  of  two  hundred  hogs — 
"Seventh  Moon  Feast,"  a  hideous  spectacle — Ancestral  worship — 
Annual  family  gathering — An  "open  sesame" — A  burdensome 
curse — Lifted  by  the  gospel 

RELIGIOUSLY  the  Chinese  in  Formosa  are  related  to  the 
Chinese  on  the  mainland,  especially  in  the  Fukien  prov- 
ince. They  are  all  idolaters.  Transportation,  and  separation 
from  the  huge  mass  may,  indeed,  have  had  the  effect  of  loosen- 
ing the  bonds  and  making  idolatry  in  Formosa  less  unyielding 
in  its  hold  and  less  hopelessly  blinded  in  its  outlook  than  it  is 
in  China.  The  incessant  struggle  for  life  in  a  new  country  may 
also  have  done  something.  At  all  events,  it  would  seem  as 
though  there  were  more  laxity,  more  indifferentism,  among  the 
masses  of  the  people  than  may  be  found  on  the  mainland. 

But  the  heathenism  of  Formosa  is  of  the  same  kind  and 
quality  as  the  heathenism  of  China.  It  is  the  same  poisonous 
mixture,  the  same  dark,  damning  nightmare.  The  original  ele- 
ment was  Confucianism — a  system  of  morality,  with  its  worship 
of  heaven,  its  deification  of  ancestors,  and  its  ethical  maxims. 
Centuries  after,  Tauism  was  added — a  system  of  demonolatry, 
with  its  spirit-superstition  and  wretched  incantations.  Then 
from  India  Buddhism  was  brought — a  system  of  idolatry,  with 
its  shrines  and  smoking  incense.     These  three  systems  existed 

125 


126  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

side  by  side  until  the  dividing-walls  began  to  crumble ;  and 
now  the  three  are  run  together,  a  commingling  of  conflicting- 
creeds,  degrading  the  intellect,  defiling  life,  and  destroying  all 
religious  sentiment.  In  Western  lands  one  hears  much  about 
Oriental  religions,  the  beauties  of  Buddhism,  and  the  like. 
One  who  knows  is  not  deceived.  These  indiscriminating 
laudations  are  false  and  vain,  the  outcome  of  ignorance  or  the 
enchantment  of  distance.  I  know  something  of  the  delights 
of  Buddhism,  not  as  seen  from  the  platform  of  a  Parliament  of 
Religions,  but  as  Buddhism  really  is  in  its  own  country.  For 
twenty-three  years  I  have  been  in  the  midst  of  heathenism, 
brushing  against  its  priests  and  people  ;  and  I  know  the  poison 
of  its  sweets,  the  fatal  flash  of  its  light,  and  the  stagnant  fetor 
of  its  life. 

It  is  not  needful  that  an  exposition  of  the  complex  religious 
system  of  the  Chinese  be  here  presented.  Of  late  years  the 
literature  on  that  subject  has  greatly  increased,  and  students 
will  find  in  the  works  of  such  authors  as  Wells-Williams,  Ne- 
vius,  Du  Bose,  and  others,  intelligent  and  detailed  discussion. 
What  they  have  reported  regarding  the  mainland  is  to  a  large 
degree  true  in  regard  to  Formosa ;  and  for  the  purposes  of  this 
book,  beyond  a  general  survey,  all  that  is  possible  is  some  ref- 
erence to  points  and  customs  not  dealt  with  by  the  authors 
mentioned. 

The  Chinese  in  Formosa  have  innumerable  gods  and  god- 
desses, many  religious  festivals,  and  countless  superstitions  that 
burden  their  life.  The  names  of  their  idols  would  fill  pages, 
and  the  details  of  their  beliefs  and  worship  volumes.  There 
are  gods  having  authority  over  each  of  the  various  powers  of 
nature,  departments  of  industry,  relationships  of  life,  states  of 
feeling,  physical  conditions,  and  moral  sentiments.  Some  have 
been  worshiped  for  centuries  ;  others  are  of  recent  date.  Some 
are  universal,  receiving  the  adoration  of  all  classes  throughout 
the  Chinese  empire ;  others  are  local  or  special,  and  are  rever- 


CHINESE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  127 

enced  only  in  particular  localities  or  by  certain  orders.  The 
origin  of  the  worship  of  many  of  the  idols  is  a  mystery,  but 
modern  instances  are  suggestive.  In  1878  a  girl  living  not  far 
from  Tamsui  wasted  away  and  died,  a  victim  of  consumption. 
Some  one  in  that  neighborhood,  more  gifted  than  the  rest,  an- 
nounced that  a  goddess  was  there,  and  the  wasted  skeleton  of 
the  girl  became  immediately  famous.  She  was  given  the  name 
Sien-lu-niu  ("Virgin  Goddess  "),  and  a  small  temple  was  erected 
for  her  worship.  The  body  was  put  into  salt  and  water  for 
some  time,  and  then  placed  in  a  sitting  position  in  an  arm- 
chair, with  a  red  cloth  around  the  shoulders  and  a  wedding- 
cap  upon  the  head  ;  and  seen  through  the  glass,  the  black  face, 
with  the  teeth  exposed,  looked  very  much  like  an  Egyptian 
mummy.  Mock  money  was  burned  and  incense-sticks  laid  in 
front.  Passers-by  were  told  the  story,  and  as  they  are  willing 
to  worship  anything  supposed  to  have  power  to  help  or  harm, 
the  worship  of  this  new  goddess  began.  Before  many  weeks 
hundreds  of  sedan-chairs  could  be  seen  passing  and  repassing, 
bringing  worshipers,  especially  women,  to  this  shrine.  Rich 
men  sent  presents  to  adorn  the  temple,  and  all  took  up  the  cry 
of  this  new  goddess.  But  the  devotees  were  disappointed,  for 
the  divining-blocks  gave  no  certain  answers;  and  while  they 
might  continue  to  reverence  an  unanswering  goddess  whom 
their  ancestors  had  worshiped  before  them,  they  had  not  the 
same  respect  for  a  new  candidate.  One  woman  who  had 
heard  the  gospel  several  years  before,  while  we  were  preaching 
in  the  town  of  Kim-pau-li,  was  being  carried  to  worship  at  this 
temple ;  and  when  on  a  high  narrow  path,  through  some  acci- 
dent she  was  tumbled  dowm  the  bank  in  her  sedan-chair.  She 
returned  home  very  much  displeased  with  herself,  and  angry  at 
those  who  introduced  this  new  object  of  worship.  Her  confi- 
dence in  the  idol  was  all  the  more  easily  shaken  because  of  the 
secret  working  in  her  mind  and  heart  of  the  gospel  heard  years 
before.     Indeed,  all  attempts  to  make  the  worship  of  this  new 


128  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

goddess  popular  and  universal  failed,  and  failed  because  "the 
light  of  life  was  in  the  field."  A  hundred  years  ago,  however, 
she  would  soon  have  had  millions  before  her  presenting  their 
offerings  and  beseeching  her  favor. 

Idol-temples  are  common  throughout  the  country,  and  idols 
may  be  seen  under  trees  and  near  bridges  for  travelers  and 
chance  devotees  to  burn  money  and  toss  the  divining-blocks. 
Their  method  of  petition  is  saddening  to  behold.  Divining- 
blocks  are  used.  These  are  made  of  bamboo  roots  split  into 
two  pieces,  each  piece  having  one  side  convex,  the  other  flat. 
With  these  two  blocks,  two  or  three  inches  in  length,  the  peti- 
tioner stands  before  the  idol  and  offers  his  prayer.  The  peti- 
tion is  presented  in  the  form  of  a  question ;  e.g.,  "  O  idol,  will 
you  give  me  wealth?  "  The  blocks  are-  then  waved  in  the 
hands  three  times  and  tossed  on  the  floor.  If  either  the  two 
convex  or  the  two  flat  sides  are  turned  upward  the  answer  of 
the  idol  is  in  the  negative ;  but  if  one  convex  and  one  flat  side 
be  upward  the  answer  is  in  the  affirmative.  If  the  petition  be 
granted  the  blocks  are  returned  to  their  place,  and  vows  may 
be  made  and  mock  money  either  burned  or  placed  in  front  of 
the  idol.  The  offerings  presented  are  in  accordance  with  the 
favors  granted.  Should  the  divining-blocks  return  a  negative 
answer  from  the  god,  the  petitioner,  if  very  importunate,  will 
try  again  and  again,  and  this  "  heads  or  tails  "  form  of  prayer 
may  be  kept  up  until  the  desired  answer  is  obtained. 

Idolatry  is  the  mother  of  a  very  extensive  industry,  as  the 
manufacture  of  idols  is  a  thriving  business.  There  is  little  art 
about  it,  as  the  Chinese  idols  are  inartistic  in  form,  grotesque, 
hideous.  They  are  made  sometimes  of  stone  or  bronze,  gen- 
erally of  wood  or  clay.  The  wood  of  the  camphor-tree  is 
often  used  in  idol  manufacture.  After  much  use  the  idol  is 
taken  back  for  repairs — repainted,  regilded,  an  arm  or  head  to 
be  replaced,  an  ear  reset,  or  the  eyes  to  be  touched  up  or  made 
new.    The  various  parts  are  cut  out  or  moulded  into  shape  and 


CHINESE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  129 

put  together  by  the  idol-maker,  and  the  devotee  walks  out  of 
the  place  with  the  God  of  War  or  the  Goddess  of  the  Sea! 
The  paper  money  used  in  worship  is  made  out  of  tinfoil,  beaten 
thin,  and  sold  in  packages.  A  great  number  of  men  are  em- 
ployed in  the  manufacture  of  candles  for  idolatrous  purposes. 

Many  of  the  Chinese,  especially  the  women,  are  devout 
worshipers ;  many  others  are  skeptical,  and  the  majority  are 
careless.  Idolatry  has  a  powerful  hold  on  their  minds,  but  it 
is  only  when  reverses  and  troubles  come  that  the  average  man 
will  resort  to  the  temple.  They  believe  the  gods  have  power 
to  help  or  to  injure  them,  but  so  long  as  things  go  well  they 
are  careless  about  their  devotions.  There  are  great  occasions 
when  a  feast  is  held  or  a  general  offering  made,  and  then  all 
devotional  arrearages  are  wiped  out.  I  once  attended  an  im- 
mense gathering  in  honor  of  the  God  of  Medicine,  when  an 
offering  of  two  hundred  hogs  was  made.  It  was  on  the  birth- 
day of  the  god,  and  in  a  grass  hut  on  a  small  plateau  five  miles 
north  of  Tamsui  the  idol  was  seated.  In  front  of  the  god, 
pork,  fowl,  rice,  fish,  eggs,  tea,  and  spirituous  liquors  were  set. 
A  Tauist  priest  performed  incantations,  bowing,  chanting,  and 
beseeching  the  god  to  be  favorable  and  to  partake  of  the  feast 
provided.  Fragrant  incense-sticks  were  burned,  and  at  inter- 
vals mock  money  was  offered.  Outside  the  hut  men  were  busy 
preparing  the  great  feast  for  the  god.  Two  hundred  dressed 
hogs,  on  frames  prepared  for  the  purpose,  were  ranged  all 
around  in  rows,  an  orange  in  the  mouth  of  each,  and  a  large 
knife  stuck  in  the  back  of  the  neck.  These  hogs  varied  in 
weight  from  fifty  to  four  hundred  and  eighty  pounds.  Fully 
four  thousand  men,  women,  and  children  were  present,  each 
family  displaying  its  own  articles  to  the  best  advantage.  In 
the  evening  torches,  music,  and  theatrical  performances  added 
to  the  honor  done  to  the  poor  camphor-wood  god  in  the  grass 
hut. 

The  most  elaborate  and  hideous  scene  I  ever  witnessed  was 


13°  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

the  "Seventh  Moon  Feast."  The  seventh  month  was  the  time 
for  making  offerings  to  all  departed  spirits.  It  was  a  time  of 
great  festivity  and  excitement.  The  custom  prevailed  in  all 
the  cities  and  towns  in  North  Formosa  of  erecting,  in  an  open 
space  of  several  acres,  great  cone-like  structures  of  bamboo 
poles,  from  five  to  ten  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and  some- 
times fifty  or  sixty  feet  high.  Around  these  cones,  from  bottom 
to  top,  immense  quantities  of  food,  offered  to  the  spirits,  were 
tied  in  rows.  There  were  ducks  and  smaller  fowl,  dead  and 
alive,  pork,  fish,  cakes,  fruits,  bananas,  pineapples,  and  all 
manner  of  delicacies  in  season  ;  and  fastened  everywhere  in  the 
mass  were  hundreds  of  huge  fire-crackers.  On  one  occasion  I 
saw  fifty  such  cones  at  a  feast  at  Bang-kah.  It  was  a  grue- 
some sight.  When  night  came  on  and  the  time  for  summoning 
the  spirits  approached,  the  cones  were  illuminated  by  dozens 
of  lighted  candles.  Then  the  priests  took  up  their  position  on 
a  raised  platform,  and  by  clapping  their  hands  and  sounding 
a  large  brass  gong  they  called  the  spirits  of  all  the  departed  to 
come  and  feast  on  the  food  provided.  "  Out  of  the  night  and 
the  other  world  "  the  dead  were  given  time  to  come  and  to 
gorge  themselves  on  the  "  spiritual "  part  of  the  feast,  the  es- 
sence, that  was  suited  to  their  ethereal  requirements.  Mean- 
while a  very  unspiritual  mob — thousands  and  thousands  of 
hungry  beggars,  tramps,  blacklegs,  desperadoes  of  all  sorts, 
from  the  country  towns,  the  city  slums,  or  venturing  under 
cover  of  the  night  from  their  hiding-places  among  the  hills — 
surged  and  swelled  in  every  part  of  the  open  space,  impatiently 
waiting  their  turn  at  the  feast.  When  the  spirits  had  consumed 
the  "  spiritual  "  part,  the  "  carnal  "  was  the  property  of  the  mob, 
and  the  mob  quite  approved  of  this  division.  But  the  time 
seemed  long.  At  length  the  spirits  were  satisfied,  and  the 
gong  was  sounded  once  more.  That  was  the  signal  for  the 
mob ;  and  scarcely  had  the  first  stroke  fallen  when  that  whole 
scene  was  one  mass  of  arms  and  legs  and  tongues.    Screaming, 


CHINESE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  131 

cursing,  howling,  like  demons  of  the  pit,  they  all  joined  in  the 
onset.  A  rush  was  made  for  the  cones,  and  those  nearest 
seized  the  supports  and  pulled  now  this  way,  now  that.  The 
huge,  heavily  laden  structures  began  to  sway  from  side  to  side 
until  with  a  crash  one  after  another  fell  into  the  crowd,  crush- 
ing their  way  to  the  ground.  Then  it  was  every  man  for  him- 
self. In  one  wild  scramble,  groaning  and  yelling  all  the  while, 
trampling  on  those  who  had  lost  their  footing  or  were  smoth- 
ered by  the  falling  cones,  fighting  and  tearing  one  another  like 
mad  dogs,  they  all  made  for  the  coveted  food.  It  was  a  very 
bedlam,  and  the  wildness  of  the  scene  was  enhanced  by  the 
irregular  explosion  of  the  fire-crackers  and  the  death-groan  of 
some  one  worsted  in  the  fray.  As  each  secured  what  he  could 
carry,  he  tried  to  extricate  himself  from  the  mob,  holding  fast 
to  the  treasures  for  which  he  had  fought,  and  of  which  the  less 
successful  in  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd  would  fain  plunder  him. 
Escaping  the  mob,  he  hurried  to  his  home,  expecting  every 
moment  to  be  attacked  by  those  who  thought  it  easier  to  way- 
lay and  rob  the  solitary  spoilsman  than  to  join  in  the  general 
scramble  in  the  plain. 

One  cannot  estimate  the  demoralizing  effects  of  such  feasts ; 
and  it  is  to  the  credit  of  that  progressive  governor,  Liu  Ming 
Chuan,  that  the  barbarities  of  the  "  Seventh  Moon  Feast  "  have 
been  entirely  abolished  in  Formosa.  Such  a  sight  as  has  been 
described  will  never  again  be  witnessed  there. 

In  a  general  and  broad  sense  all  their  worship  is  ancestral, 
as  their  gods  are  the  deified  spirits  of  some  of  the  distinguished 
dead.  But  the  worship  of  their  gods  is  not  the  real  religion  of 
the  Chinese,  the  idol-shrine  is  not  their  most  holy  place.  Their 
real  religion  is  the  worship  of  their  ancestors,  their  real  idol  the 
ancestral  tablet.  The  worship  of  ancestors  is  certainly  of  very 
ancient  date,  and  was  sanctioned  by  the  Chinese  sage  Con- 
fucius. Their  doctrine  is  that  each  man  has  three  souls.  At 
death  one  soul  goes  into  the  unseen  world  of  spirits,  the  second 


I32  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

goes  clown  into  the  grave,  and  the  third  hovers  about  the  old 
homestead.  For  the  first  the  priest  is  responsible.  The  second 
and  third  claim  the  services  of  living  relatives,  the  grave  being 
tended  for  the  one,  while  the  other  is  invited  to  take  up  its 
abode  in  a  tablet  of  wood ;  and  from  that  hour  the  ancestral 
tablet  becomes  the  most  sacred  thing  in  the  possession  of  the 
family.  It  is  simply  a  narrow  piece  of  wood,  about  a  foot  long, 
two  or  three  inches  wide,  and  half  an  inch  thick,  set  in  a  low 
pedestal,  and  on  one  side  are  inscribed  the  ancestral  names. 
The  eldest  son  has  charge  of  the  tablet  and  its  worship.  It  is 
placed  in  the  main  hall  of  the  house,  offerings  are  presented 
before  it,  and  incense  burned  to  it  every  day.  The  son  regards 
that  tablet  as  in  very  truth  the  abode  of  a  personal  being  who 
is  far  more  to  him  for  weal  or  woe  than  all  the  gods  of  the 
empire.  The  gods  are  to  be  feared  and  their  favor  is  to  be 
propitiated ;  but  ancestors  are  loved  and  their  needs  in  the 
spirit-world  generously  supplied.  The  heathen  Chinese  have 
no  knowledge  of  the  "  Father's  house  of  many  mansions," 
where  "  they  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more."  To 
them  the  dead  are  dependent  on  their  living  relatives,  and 
should  they  be  neglected  they  would  become  beggar  spirits, 
hungry,  naked,  penniless,  with  will  and  power  to  punish  their 
undutiful  offspring  for  their  neglect.  Food  must  therefore  be 
offered  before  the  tablet,  to  satisfy  the  hunger  of  the  spirit ; 
paper  clothing  must  be  burned  to  hide  its  nakedness,  and  paper 
money  to  give  it  independence  in  the  world  of  shades. 

There  are  some  things  that  appeal  to  human  nature  in  this 
ancestral  idolatry.  Its  motive  may  be  fear,  but  its  basis  is  filial 
piety.  And  there  is  something  very  solemn  about  their  annual 
family  gatherings  before  the  spirit-tablets  of  their  dead.  The 
most  sacred  time  in  all  the  Chinese  calendar  is  the  last  night 
of  the  old  year,  when  the  chief  family  feast  is  held  and  sacri- 
fices are  offered  to  the  ancestral  guests.  To  be  present  on  such 
an  occasion,  the  son  returns  home,  it  may  be,  from  beyond  the 


CHINESE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  133 

Pacific.  The  household  assemble  in  their  family  orator}-. 
No  stranger  is  there.  Before  them  are  the  sacred  tablets, 
their  household  gods,  and  with  reverence  they  present  their 
offerings,  burn  their  sacrifices,  and  bow  themselves  in  worship. 
Pork,  fish,  fowl,  vegetables,  rice,  and  some  spirituous  liquor 
constitute  the  food,  which  is  offered  smoking  hot,  and  the 
spirits  feast  upon  its  essence  carried  up  in  the  ascending  steam. 
Paper  clothing  and  mock  money  are  burned,  and  as  the  smoke 
curls  up  the  spirits  are  clothed  and  enriched.  Lest  any  vaga- 
bond spirit,  neglected  by  its  living  offspring,  should  be  hover- 
ing about  seeking  an  entrance  into  this  hallowed  place,  a 
supply  of  food  is  set  outside  the  door,  that  the  hungry  soul 
may  be  satisfied  and  not  intrude.  This  ancestral  feast  on  the 
last  night  of  the  year  is  to  the  Chinese  what  Passover  night  is 
to  the  pious  Jew. 

It  has  been  my  custom  never  to  denounce  or  revile  what  is 
so  sacredly  cherished,  but  rather  to  recognize  whatever  of  truth 
or  beauty  there  is  in  it,  and  to  utilize  it  as  an  "  open  sesame  " 
to  the  heart.  Many,  many  times,  standing  on  the  steps  of  a 
temple,  after  singing  a  hymn,  have  I  repeated  the  fifth  com- 
mandment, and  the  words  "  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother  " 
never  failed  to  secure  respectful  attention.  Sometimes  a  frail 
old  man,  whose  cue  was  white,  and  whose  hands  trembled  on 
his  staff,  would  nod  approvingly  and  say,  "  That  is  heavenly 
doctrine."  Having  gained  common  ground,  and  having  dis- 
coursed on  the  duties  to  earthly  parents,  the  transition  of 
thought  to  our  Father  in  heaven  is  easily  made.  Prejudices 
have  been  overcome  in  this  way,  and  minds  disposed  to  the 
truth  of  the  gospel.  The  worship  of  idols  is  first  given  up ; 
but  it  may  be  months — perhaps  a  year — before  the  tablet  can 
be  forsaken.  The  truth  about  the  soul,  death,  and  the  here- 
after must  be  firmly  grasped,  or  it  will  wring  the  heart  to  throw 
away  the  tablet. 

Ancestral  worship  has  its  beauties,  and  in  its  exaltation  of 


154  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

marriage  it  may  indirectly  have  been  a  blessing ;  but  it  has  its 
darker  side,  and  in  its  train  follow  domestic  infelicity,  miscar- 
riage of  justice,  and  a  social  and  moral  bondage  that  subjects 
the  millions  of  the  living  to  the  degrading  service  of  the  dead. 
A  marriage  that  does  not  result  in  the  birth  of  a  son,  who  will 
guard  his  father's  grave  and  worship  at  the  ancestral  shrine,  is 
a  source  of  perpetual  misery,  giving  the  husband  just  cause  for 
ill-treating  his  wife,  putting  her  away,  or  resorting  to  con- 
cubinage. Should  an  only  son  whose  parents  are  dead  be 
arraigned  before  a  magistrate  and  found  guilty  of  the  most 
heinous  crime,  the  fact  that  there  is  no  one  else  to  attend  to 
the  offices  of  ancestral  worship  would  interfere  with  the  exe- 
cution of  a  just  sentence,  as  the  magistrate  would  shrink  from 
the  responsibility  of  depriving  the  spirits  of  the  departed  of  the 
care  and  support  they  require.  And  this  ancestral  worship 
blocks  the  way  of  all  change  and  progress,  because  to  make 
any  change  in  social  customs  or  religious  forms  "  would  disturb 
the  status  between  men  and  spirits,  and  thus  prove  fatal  to  the 
repose  of  the  dead  and  the  safety  of  the  living." 

This  venerable  cultus,  the  worship  of  ancestors,  is  indeed  the 
most  stubborn  obstacle  Christianity  has  to  face.  It  is  so  en- 
grained in  the  nature,  and  appeals  so  touchingly  to  the  heart, 
that  it  requires  the  strongest  conviction  and  the  finest  moral 
courage  to  break  its  thraldom  and  brave  the  scorn  of  friends 
and  relatives,  to  whom  neglect  of  one's  ancestors  in  the  spirit- 
world  is  the  most  inhuman  and  crudest  of  crimes.  The  gospel 
of  the  risen  Saviour,  shedding  light  on  the  immortal  life,  and 
redeeming  men  from  the  heavy  bondage  of  ignorance,  super- 
stition, and  fear,  is  proving  itself  the  only  power  that  can  save 
to  the  uttermost.  It  drives  out  the  false  by  the  expulsive  power 
of  truth,  and  under  its  vivifying  influences  the  devotees  of  the 
tablet  turn  from  the  darkening  past  and  look  forward  and  up- 
ward to  the  hills  of  the  Homeland,  where  the  weary  rest  in  the 
light  of  God. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

BEGINNINGS    OF    MISSION    WORK 

Purpose — Learning  the  language — With  the  herdboys — First  sermon — 
The  literati — Coming  of  A  Hoa — Conversion  of  Go  Ek  Ju — A  Chris- 
tian family 

IN  April,  1872,  I  had  secured  a  house  in  Tamsui,  and  faced 
the  question,  Why  am  I  here  ?  Is  it  to  study  the  geology, 
botany,  or  zoology  of  Formosa  ?  Is  it  to  examine  into  ques- 
tions about  the  racial  relations  of  the  inhabitants  ?  Is  it  to 
study  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  people  ?  No ;  not  for 
that  did  I  leave  my  native  home.  Not  for  that  did  the  church 
in  Canada  ordain  me  and  send  me  out.  My  commission  is 
clear ;  I  hold  it  from  the  King  and  Head  of  the  church :  "  Go 
ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature." 
Whatever  else  may  be  done,  that  commission  must  be  fulfilled. 
More  than  that.  Whatever  else  may  be  done  must  have  a 
real  and  positive  bearing  on  the  fulfilment  of  that  commission. 
Whatever  of  history,  geology,  ethnology,  sociology,  or  of  any 
other  subject  may  engage  the  missionary's  attention  must  be 
regarded  in  its  relation  to  the  gospel.  To  get  the  gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God  into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  heathen, 
and  when  converted  to  build  them  up  in  their  faith — that  was 
my  purpose  in  going  to  Formosa.  I  had  it  clearly  before  me 
at  the  beginning,  and  nothing  has  been  allowed  to  obscure  it 
or  make  it  less  than  supreme. 

But  the  question  of  ways  and  means  had  yet  to  be  answered  ; 

i35 


136  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

and  taking  things  as  they  came,  my  first  duty  was  to  learn  the 
language.  Already  I  had  mastered  the  eight  tones  of  the 
Formosan  dialect  and  had  learned  a  few  words.  But  what 
was  that  compared  with  the  task  scarcely  begun  ?  I  had  no 
teacher,  and  there  were  then  no  books  of  much  use  to  a  be- 
ginner. My  Chinese  servant,  who  returned  with  me  from  the 
trip  down  the  west  coast  with  Messrs.  Ritchie  and  Dickson, 
was  my  only  helper.  I  spent  hours  with  him  pronouncing 
words  and  imitating  sounds.  He  was  not  used  to  that  kind 
of  service,  and  at  times  would  look  at  me  doubtfully,  as 
though  he  thought  me  a  little  daft.  I  kept  away  from  the 
main  street  and  wandered  out  into  the  country  in  the  hope  of 
meeting  some  peasant  with  whom  I  might  converse,  and  from 
whom  I  might  learn  something  of  the  language  of  the  common 
people.  Out  on  the  downs  I  saw  a  dozen  boys  herding  water- 
buffaloes.  As  soon  as  I  went  near  they  yelled,  "  Foreign 
devil,  foreign  devil  ! "  jumped  on  the  ground,  waved  their 
large  sun-hats,  and  disappeared  behind  boulders.  The  next 
day  I  tried  them  again.  They  looked  at  me  in  silence,  but 
on  the  alert,  and  ready  to  run  at  the  first  sign  of  danger.  The 
third  day  I  spoke  to  them,  and  as  I  had  carefully  practised 
my  words  they  exclaimed,  in  utter  astonishment,  "  He  knows 
our  language!"  That  the  "barbarian"  could  speak  even  a 
few  of  their  words  interested  them  very  much.  I  took  out  my 
watch  and  held  it  up  for  them  to  see.  They  were  around  me 
instantly,  feeling  my  hands,  fingers,  buttons,  and  clothes.  The 
herdboys  and  I  became  friends  that  day,  and  ever  after  they 
would  wait  my  coming  with  eager  interest.  I  was  out  there 
on  the  plateau  with  them  every  day  for  four  or  five  hours, 
talking  to  them,  hearing  them  talk,  noting  down  new  words 
and  phrases,  until  my  vocabulary  began  to  grow  with  a  rapidity 
that  quite  amazed  my  servant.  I  learned  more  of  the  spoken 
dialect  from  those  herdboys  than  in  any  other  way,  and  years 
after,  when  they  grew  to  manhood,  they  continued  friendly,  and 


BEGINNINGS   OF  MISSION   WORK  1 31 

were  always  delighted  to  recall  the  first  days  on  the  buffalo- 
pasture.  Several  of  them  became  converts  to  Christianity, 
one  a  student  and  preacher. 

All  this  time  I  was  working  away  at  the  written  characters 
with  my  English- Chinese  dictionary.  It  was  slow  and  vexa- 
tious. Without  a  teacher  or  helper,  and  having  none  of  the 
improved  dictionaries,  it  sometimes  took  hours  to  find  the 
meaning  of  one  character. 

In  this  way  I  learned  the  spoken  dialect  in  the  daytime 
from  the  herdboys,  and  studied  the  characters  from  the  books 
at  night,  all  the  while  practising  aloud  in  order  to  train  both 
tongue  and  ear.  Something  new  was  learned  every  day,  and 
my  old  servant  had  to  listen  to  new  words  and  sentences  and 
hear  the  old  ones  over  again  every  night.  It  is  entirely  prob- 
able that  he  said  some  things  I  did  not  understand,  and  that 
were  not  very  complimentary.  I  am  quite  sure  he  became 
sick  and  tired  of  my  questions  and  cross-questions.  After  a 
few  weeks  in  my  service  he  collapsed,  and  left  me  to  march 
up  and  down  the  room  reciting  and  rehearsing  by  myself.  I 
never  saw  him  again.  These  exercises  were  not  in  vain,  how- 
ever, and  as  I  shunned  all  Europeans  and  English-speaking 
Chinese,  and  spoke  to  every  other  man  who  would  listen  to 
me,  within  five  months  I  had  so  far  mastered  the  language 
that  I  was  able  to  preach  my  first  sermon ;  and  while  it  was 
much  shorter  than  the  sermons  I  was  accustomed  to  hear  in 
Zorra,  it  was  listened  to  by  some  of  those  heathen  hearers 
with  strict  attention.  The  text  was,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be 
saved?  "  The  room  was  full.  Some  sneered,  others  laughed 
outright,  but  some  were  respectful  and  attentive. 

While  studying  the  language  I  was  also  coming  into  touch 
with  the  people.  The  proud,  conceited  literati  would  enter 
my  room,  open  my  Bibles  and  other  books,  throw  them  on  the 
floor,  and  then  strut  out  with  a  grunt  of  contempt.  I  got  a 
large  sheet  of  Chinese  paper,  printed  on  it  the  ten  command- 


i58  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

merits,  and  pasted  it  on  the  outside  of  my  door.  It  was  soon 
daubed  with  mud  and  then  torn  down.  A  second  was  simi- 
larly treated.    The  third  was  put  up  and  remained  untouched. 

One  forenoon  a  young  man,  prepossessing  in  appearance, 
and  of  more  than  ordinary  intelligence,  called  upon  me  and 
questioned  me  on  many  subjects.  When  he  was  leaving  I 
invited  him  to  return  in  the  evening  and  have  another  talk. 
He  promised,  and  was  there  at  the  time  mentioned,  and  re- 
mained during  brief  exercises  and  the  singing  of  a  hymn.  I 
read  one  of  our  hymns,  the  subject  of  which  is  the  brevity  of 
human  life,  and  presented  him  with  a  copy  of  the  hymn-book. 
There  was  something  about  the  young  man  that  attracted  my 
attention  and  made  me  think  more  about  him  after  he  had 
gone  than  about  any  of  the  others  with  whom  I  had  met.  He 
was  intelligent  and  respectable,  but  there  was  a  seriousness, 
a  downrightness,  that  marked  him  as  superior.  I  had  been 
pleading  with  God  to  give  me  as  the  first  convert  an  intelligent. 
and  active  young  man.  Long  before  I  had  reached  Formosa 
that  had  been  the  burden  of  my  prayer.  That  night  when  I 
was  alone  in  my  room  the  thought  flashed  upon  my  mind  that 
my  prayer  was  heard,  and  that  this  young  stranger  was  the 
man  I  had  prayed  for.  So  powerfully  did  the  conviction 
come  home  to  me  that,  although  I  had  not  a  tittle  of  evidence 
of  his  conversion,  I  slept  little  that  night  for  very  gratitude. 

In  a  day  or  two  the  young  man  returned,  bringing  with  him 
a  graduate  of  some  note,  who  discussed  questions  of  religion 
with  me  for  some  time.  It  was  clear  now  that  there  was  to 
be  a  conflict  with  the  literati,  and  that  day  I  began  studying 
their  language  and  religion  with  more  earnestness  than  ever. 
The  next  time  the  young  man  came  he  brought  with  him  six 
graduates,  who  remained  for  two  hours  discussing  and  ques- 
tioning. A  few  days  later  he  brought  several  others.  Then 
he  came  with  a  literary  man  of  a  higher  degree,  a  ku-jin,  and 
twenty  graduates  and  teachers.     By  this  time  I  had  become 


BEGINNINGS   OF  MISSION   WORK  139 

so  interested  that  with  the  utmost  eagerness  I  entered  into  the 
discussion  and  attacked  them  on  their  own  ground.  Question 
after  question  was  put  to  them  touching  their  three  religions, 
Confucianism,  Buddhism,  and  Tatfism.  They  were  surprised 
at  the  "  barbarian's  "  knowledge  of  their  sages  and  their  teach- 
ings. Their  spokesman  was  soon  entangled,  and  in  a  little 
while  they  all  left  the  room.  Within  half  an  hour  the  young 
man  returned.  He  looked  more  serious  than  ever.  I  read  the- 
hymn  "A  day's  march  nearer  home."  His  eyes  brightened, 
and  he  said,  "  What  you  read  now  suits  me.  I  love  those 
words,  and  I  am  convinced  that  the  doctrines  you  teach  are 
true.  I  brought  all  those  graduates  and  teachers  to  silence 
you  or  to  be  silenced.  I  have  thought  a  great  deal  about 
these  things  of  late,  and  I  am  determined  to  be  a  Christian, 
even  though  I  suffer  death  for  it.  The  Book  you  have  has 
the  true  doctrine,  and  I  should  like  to  study  it  with  you."  I 
wrote  down  all  the  young  man  said  in  my  journal,  at  his  own 
request;  and  with  the  record  now  before  me,  my  mind  goes 
back  to  that  day  in  the  month  of  May,  1872.  I  recall  some- 
thing of  the  feelings  of  that  hour — the  strange  thrill  of  joy,  the 
hope,  perhaps  the  fear,  the  gratitude,  and  the  prayer.  I  look 
back  through  these  twenty-three  years,  see  the  earnest  face  of 
that  young  man,  and  hear  again  his  words  of  resolve  and  con- 
viction. Were  those  true  words  ?  Who  can  say  one  syllable 
was  untrue?  That  young  man  became  a  Christian,  a  student, 
a  preacher,  and  to-day,  after  twenty-three  long  years  of  trial 
and  testing,  he  is  there  still,  the  chief  among  the  native  preach- 
ers, the  man  to  whom,  more  than  to  any  other,  the  care  of 
sixty  churches  in  the  mission  in  North  Formosa  falls.  His 
name  is  Giam  Chheng  Hoa,  better  known  as  A  Hoa.  Will 
any  one  who  knows  anything  about  the  history  of  mission 
work  in  Formosa  say  that  A  Hoa's  brave  resolution,  made  on 
that  day  so  long  ago,  has  failed? 

Some  time   after  A  Hoa  became  a  disciple,  a  painter  in 


140  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

Tamsui  named  Go  Ek  Ju  persisted  in  disturbing  our  meet- 
ings and  molesting  us.  When  I  was  addressing  the  people  at 
night,  with  the  door  open,  he  would  pass  by  and  throw  peb- 
bles inside.  When  the  door  was  closed  he  would  look  through 
holes  and  listen  to  all  that  was  said.  His  habitual  custom  was 
to  lie  in  wait  for  A  Hoa  when  on  his  way  home  after  worship. 
First  alone,  then  with  others,  he  would  jerk  A  Hoa's  cue,  slap 
him  in  the  face,  stand  right  before  him  in  the  street,  and  insult 
him  in  other  ways.  We  just  pleaded  with  God  every  day  to 
give  the  man  light  from  above.  One  afternoon  a  medium- 
sized,  thin-faced,  pock-marked,  intelligent-looking  fellow  came 
to  me  at  our  house  and  said,  "  I  am  sorry  for  my  past  conduct 
toward  A  Hoa  and  you,  and  beg  you  to  forgive  me."  It  was 
Go  Ek  Ju,  the  painter.  He  took  his  stand  as  a  Christian  that 
night,  and  publicly  declared  his  allegiance  to  Christ. 

After  his  conversion  he  spent  every  hour  of  spare  time  in 
study.  But  his  aged  mother — how  she  cried,  raged,  and 
threatened  when  she  heard  what  her  only  son  had  done! 
How  true  it  sometimes  is  that  "  a  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of 
his  own  household  " !  His  two  sisters  sent  him  word  privately 
to  keep  away  from  the  house,  lest  something  serious  should 
happen.  The  poor,  warm-hearted  son  was  to  be  pitied,  and 
A  Hoa  went  with  him  to  his  former  home.  They  were  re- 
ceived with  bitterness,  for  relatives,  neighbors,  and  constables 
goaded  the  mother  on  to  desperation.  At  length  I  went  to 
the  house  with  him  and  A  Hoa.  Go  Ek  Ju  sat  beside  me. 
The  mother,  who  was  engaged  pounding  rice,  looked  angry 
and  fierce.  She  gave  a  few  replies  to  my  explanations,  then 
flew  into  a  rage  and  moved  toward  her  son  with  a  mallet  in 
her  uplifted  hand.  I  intercepted  her,  grasped  the  mallet,  and 
threw  it  outside.  We  walked  out,  subject  to  abuse  from  the 
infuriated  mother.  We  now  prayed  for  that  woman.  In  a 
few  days  one  of  the  daughters  was  prostrated  with  a  severe 
illness.     Sorcerers,  doctors,  and  idols  were  consulted  in  vain, 


BEGINNINGS   OF  MISSION   WORK  141 


and  the  poor  mother's  heart  was  bleeding.  Some  one  advised 
European  medicines,  and  I  was  called  in  to  prescribe.  The 
malarial  fever  from  which  the  girl  was  suffering  soon  yielded 
to  the  remedies.  With  the  mother's  heart  now  softened  and 
gladdened,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  getting  her  consent  to  the 
son's  continuance  as  a  student.  Before  long,  son,  mother,  and 
daughter  all  shared  in  the  hope  of  the  gospel.  It  became  a 
Christian  household,  and  all  have  remained  steadfast  until  this 
day.  The  son  has  been  a  preacher  for  twenty-one  years,  and 
the  mother  a  Bible-woman  for  a  third  of  that  time. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE    FIRST    NATIVE    PREACHER    AND    HIS    CHURCH 

The  first  student — A  Hoa's  early  life — Studying  together — A  Hoa's  first 
prayer — Beauty  in  nature — First  trials — First  testing — First  baptism 
— First  communion — First  chapel — First  services — First  preacher — 
First  female  convert 

A  NATIVE  ministry  for  the  native  church  was  an  idea  that 
took  shape  in  my  mind  before  leaving  Canada.  My 
prayer  had  been  for  a  young  man  of  such  gifts  as  would  mark 
him  out  for  the  sacred  office.  The  prayer  had  been  answered, 
and  the  coming  of  A  Hoa  seemed  to  indicate  the  mind  of  the 
Head  of  the  church.  From  the  very  beginning  I  began  train- 
ing the  first  convert  for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  He  became 
at  once  both  pupil  and  companion.  On  the  morning  after  his 
confession  he  came  to  my  house,  and  as  my  old  servant  had 
wearied  of  my  everlasting  Chinese  chatter,  he  set  to  work  and 
made  the  room  clean  and  neat.  The  result  was  that  he  joined 
himself  to  me  and  took  full  charge  of  all  housekeeping  affairs. 
The  early  life  of  this  first  convert  and  preacher  is  deserving 
of  notice.  His  family  surname  is  Giam.  When  his  father 
was  ten  years  of  age  the  family  came  from  the  mainland 
of  China.  Their  old  homestead  was  near  Foo-chow.  His 
mother  was  born  on  Steep  Island,  northeast  of  Formosa,  and 
belonged  to  the  clan  Tan.  When  thirteen  years  of  age  she 
moved  to  Tamsui,  and  five  years  later  was  married  to  Mr. 
Giam.     There  in  Tamsui,  in  the  very  house  I  afterward  rented 


THE  FIRST  NATIVE  PREACHER  AND  HIS  CHURCH  H3 

in  1S72,  and  in  the  very  room  I  first  occupied,  their  first-born 
son,  who  was  to  be  so  great  an  instrument  in  God's  hand  in 
overthrowing  the  heathen  religion  and  bringing  many  of  his 
countrymen  to  a  knowledge  of  the  world's  Redeemer,  was 
born. 

A  Hoa  opened  his  eyes  to  poverty  and  a  hard  life,  for  his 
father  died  before  he  looked  upon  his  face.  His  widowed 
mother  was  left  poor,  and  could  ill  afford  to  provide  nourish- 
ing food  for  herself  and  child.  As  a  result  he  was  weak  and 
delicate,  and  his  mother  took  him  to  an  idol  in  the  town, 
seeking  advice.  The  answer  was,  "  Let  him  be  called  my 
child,  and  name  him  Hut-a."  In  time  this  name,  which  means 
"  Idol's  Child,"  was  changed  to  Hok-a,  then  to  Hoa,  and  lastly 
to  A  Hoa.  He  grew  up  a  filial  son,  and  his  care  and  respect 
for  his  mother,  who  is  still  alive,  are  very  touching.  During 
boyhood  his  days  were  spent  with  his  mother  and  his  even- 
ings with  his  teacher,  a  relative,  who  belonged  to  the  Squeers 
school  of  dominies.  The  years  from  ten  to  seventeen  were 
spent  almost  entirely  in  study.  He  then  entered  the  service 
of  a  mandarin,  who  gave  him  employment  first  as  scullion  and 
last  as  private  secretary.  He  traveled  considerably  in  China 
from  Foo-chow  to  Tientsin,  and  spent  six  months  in  Peking. 
Shortly  after  this  he  returned  to  Tamsui,  and  not  long  after 
his  return  I  landed  in  Formosa.  How  he  was  led  to  the  gos- 
pel, and  his  decision  to  become  a  Christian,  have  already  been 
told. 

A  Hoa  proved  a  faithful  servant  and  a  most  apt  and  diligent 
student.  I  began  by  teaching  him  to  read  and  write  the 
romanized  colloquial,  i.e.,  the  Chinese  spelled  with  English 
letters.  His  progress  was  simply  astonishing.  Nor  was  I 
losing  time  myself.  With  a  helper  like  A  Hoa,  who  was  as 
eager  as  myself,  I  found  my  stock  of  Chinese  words  rapidly 
increase,  and  the  difficulties  of  pronunciation  more  easily  over- 
come.    When  in  the  house  we  read,  sang,  studied,  drilled,  the 


144  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

whole  day  long.  A  neighbor  entered  one  day  to  see  if  we 
had  both  become  altogether  crazy.  He  meant  well,  but  was 
a  little  afraid  of  us.  He  brought  us  two  cups  of  tea  as  a  spe- 
cific, and  suggested  a  visit  to  the  nearest  temple  as  a  good 
thing  for  people  affected  as  we  were.  There  may  have  been 
some  humor  in  the  scene,  but  we  started  a  hymn,  and,  fearing 
another  outbreak,  the  man  bolted  out  of  the  door,  dropping 
the  tea-cups  on  the  floor  in  his  frightened  haste.  He  would 
not  venture  back,  but  in  about  an  hour  a  little  boy  came  in  for 
the  fragments  of  the  dishes. 

As  A  Hoa  advanced  in  his  studies  I  procured  a  map  of  the 
world,  and  it  was  amusing  to  watch  him  as  his  eye  took  in  the 
vastness  of  other  countries  than  China.  His  Chinese  notions 
about  geography  were  upset,  and  he  soon  began  to  have 
thoughts  about  the  wide  world  outside  the  Chinese  wall  and 
beyond  the  broad  Pacific.  Astronomy,  too,  became  a  favorite 
and  inspiring  study.  But  the  chief  subject  was  the  Bible  and 
"  that  wonderful  redemption,  God's  remedy  for  sin."  He  was 
with  me  every  evening  as  I  preached  to  the  people,  and  their 
threats  were  as  angry  against  him  as  against  the  "barbarian." 
He  traveled  with  me,  too,  on  short  trips  into  the  country. 
One  morning  we  called  on  one  of  his  old  friends,  a  farmer, 
living  not  far  from  Tamsui.  When  they  recognized  us  two 
fierce  dogs  were  set  on  us,  and  the  children  yelled  after  us, 
pelting  us  with  stones. 

In  all  these  services  A  Hoa  was  only  a  companion,  and 
never  did  more  than  join  in  singing.  The  time  had  come 
when  his  own  gifts  must  be  exercised.  One  evening,  when  we 
were  alone  in  our  room,  I  asked  him  to  engage  in  prayer. 
He  had  never  attempted  audible  prayer  in  his  life,  and  the  re- 
quest came  upon  him  unexpectedly.  Immediately  he  fell  on 
his  knees  before  a  rickety  old  bamboo  chair.  He  was  terribly 
in  earnest,  and  his  halting  words  and  broken  petitions  were 
charged  with  intense   emotion.      Grasping   the   arms   of  the 


THE  FIRST  NATIVE  PREACHER  AND  HIS  CHURCH   I  ; 

chair  firmly  with  both  hands,  he  shoved  it  about  the  hard,  un- 
even floor,  making  a  hideous  creaking  accompaniment  to  his 
faltering  sentences.  By  the  time  the  prayer  was  finished  lie 
had  moved  half-way  across  the  room.  The  scene  had  even  to 
me  a  ludicrous  aspect,  and  had  others  been  present  it  would 
scarcely  have  been  to  their  edification ;  but  the  prayer  was  sin- 
cere, and  to  God  in  heaven  it  was  an  incense  of  sweet  smell. 
I  noted  the  words :  "  Lord,  thou  art  the  true  God.  I  did  not 
know  thee  a  few  months  ago.  Help  me  to  know  more  and 
more  of  thee.  I  know  now  that  the  idols  our  people  worship 
cannot  save  their  souls.  I  thank  thee  from  the  bottom  of  my 
heart  that  Pastor  Mac  Kay  came  to  us.  Lord,  help  me  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  bring  my  mother,  relatives,  and  neighbors  to 
Jesus.  We  do  not  know  much,  but,  O  God,  help  me,  help  us. 
This  is  my  heart's  desire." 

One  morning  early  I  started  out  writh  A  Hoa,  crossed  the 
Tamsui  River,  visited  a  Buddhist  priest  in  a  temple,  and  then 
began  the  ascent  of  the  Quan-yin  Mountain,  the  side  of  which 
was  covered  with  tall  grass  that  would  cut  like  a  knife.  When 
we  reached  the  summit,  seventeen  hundred  feet  above  the  sea, 
our  hands  were  sore  and  bleeding.  The  view  from  the  moun- 
tain-top repaid  us  for  the  pain  and  toil.  It  was  magnificent. 
But  poor  A  Hoa  was  greatly  perplexed,  wondering  what 
under  the  whole  heavens  could  be  my  purpose.  Like  all 
other  Chinese,  he  had  no  eye  for  the  beautiful  in  nature,  and 
to  climb  a  mountain  for  the  mere  pleasure  of  gazing  on  the 
scenery  was  to  him  past  comprehension.  At  first  he  was  a 
little  afraid  as  we  looked  down  upon  Tamsui  lying  at  our  feet, 
and  far  inland  saw  the  broad  stretches  of  the  Bang-kah  plain. 
His  senses  were  dormant,  however,  not  dead.  Standing  there 
together  we  sang  the  One  Hundredth  Psalm,  and  before  the  last 
verse  was  finished  the  great  Spirit,  who  makes  all  things  beau- 
tiful in  earth  and  sky  and  sea,  touched  A  Hoa's  soul.  His 
nature  was  stirred  to  its  very  depths.     It  was  the  birth-hour 


146  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

of  the  beautiful.  His  new-born  soul  had  now  an  eye  and  ear 
for  God's  message  in  creation,  and  from  that  hour  he  became 
a  devoted  student  and  ardent  lover  of  everything  in  nature. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  we  visited  Kelung  for  the 
first  time.  On  the  way  we  passed  through  Bang-kah,  the 
largest  city  in  the  north,  where  the  citizens  showed  signs  of 
bitterest  hostility,  and  many  followed,  reviling  and  pelting  us 
with  stones.  A  Hoa  was  now  becoming  familiar  with  the 
taunting  cries  that  everywhere  greeted  us:  "  Foreign  devil! 
Black-bearded  barbarian!  "  At  Sek-khau,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Kelung  River,  broken  bricks  gave  emphasis  to  the  cries  when 
our  backs  were  turned.  As  dark  came  on  we  were  making 
our  way  along  a  path  through  tall  reeds  and  grasses,  when,  at 
a  sudden  turn,  a  band  of  robbers  with  their  long  spears  flashed 
their  lights  in  our  faces.  When  I  told  them  we  had  no  money, 
and  that  I  was  a  teacher,  they  repeated  the  word  "teacher" 
and  disappeared.  We  were  carrying  torches,  but  a  storm  was 
brewing,  and  soon  a  strong  blast  left  us  in  utter  darkness. 
We  were  then  on  a  strange  road  in  an  unknown  territory. 
Gusty  winds  came  howling  down  from  the  mountains,  driving 
sheets  of  blinding  rain.  What  were  we  to  do  ?  We  could 
not  return.  To  stand  still  was  alike  out  of  the  question.  On 
we  went,  creeping  along  the  wet  and  slippery  path,  a  Canadian 
missionary,  a  Chinese  convert,  and  a  heathen  basket-bearer. 
Here  we  stumbled  over  boulders,  there  one  slipped  into  a 
crevice  in  the  rock,  and  somewhere  else  we  all  three  staggered 
into  the  mire  of  an  unfenced  rice-field.  But  underneath  and 
round  about  us  were  "  the  everlasting  arms."  Kelung  was 
reached  before  midnight,  and  the  rest  of  the  night  was  spent 
in  a  low  damp  hovel.  A  Hoa  early  learned  that  the  path  of 
duty  in  the  service  of  Christ  is  sometimes  rough  and  sore,  as  it 
was  for  Him  who  first  went  up  to  Calvary. 

At  Kelung  we  stood  on  the  stone  steps  of  a  large  heathen 
temple,   sang   a  hymn   or  two,   and   immediately   the   crowd 


THE  FIRST  NATIVE  PREACHER  AND  HIS  CHURCH   147 

gathered,  filling  the  open  space  and  the  street.  It  was  a  mob 
of  angry  idolaters.  Some  of  them  were  A  Hoa's  old  acquain- 
tances and  companions,  and  when  they  saw  him  stand  beside 
the  hated  "foreign  devil"  their  contempt  for  the  Christian 
missionary  was  as  nothing  compared  with  their  feelings  tow  aril 
the  Christian  convert.  I  turned  to  A  Hoa  and  invited  him  to 
address  the  people.  It  was  a  moment  of  testing.  He  had 
never  before  spoken  for  Christ  in  the  public  street.  It  was 
only  a  few  months  since  he  himself  had  first  heard  the  gospel. 
He  heard  the  scornful  and  vile  words  of  his  old  friends  and 
comrades,  and  when  I  turned  and  asked  him  to  speak  he  was 
silent  and  hung  down  his  head.  Immediately  I  read  the  first 
verse  of  a  hymn,  and  we  sang  it  together.  The  words  were 
those  of  the  old  Scotch  paraphrase  that  has  so  often  put  iron 
into  the  blood  and  courage  into  the  hearts  of  trembling  saints : 

"  I'm  not  ashamed  to  own  my  Lord, 
Or  to  defend  his  cause ; 
Maintain  the  glory  of  his  cross, 
And  honor  all  his  laws." 

It  was  enough.  A  Hoa  raised  his  head,  and  never  again  was 
he  "  ashamed."  Looking  out  over  that  angry  mob,  he  said, 
in  the  calm,  clear  tones  of  a  man  who  believes  and  is  unafraid, 
"  I  am  a  Christian.  I  worship  the  true  God.  I  cannot  wor- 
ship idols  that  rats  can  destroy.  I  am  not  afraid.  I  love 
Jesus.  He  is  my  Saviour  and  Friend."  His  testimony  was 
brief,  but  it  was  his  first,  and  it  was  brave  and  true.  It  is 
easy  for  a  young  man  now  to  take  his  stand  for  Christ ;  there 
are  other  converts  to  cheer  and  encourage  him.  But  it  was 
different  then.  That  word  uttered  by  A  Hoa  to  that  crowd 
of  rough  and  bitter  heathen  before  the  idol  temple  in  Kelung 
was  the  first  ever  spoken  for  Christ  to  that  generation  by  a 
native  Christian  in  North  Formosa. 

On  the  second  Sabbath  in  February,  1873,  exactly  one  year 


148  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

after  my  arrival  in  Tamsui,  at  the  close  of  service  I  announced 
that  a  number  were  to  be  admitted  by  baptism  into  the  Chris- 
tian church.  The  cry  was  raised  outside,  "  We  will  stop  him. 
Let  us  beat  the  converts."  The  house  was  filled,  and  the 
street  in  front  was  crowded.  After  the  singing  of  a  hymn  five 
men  came  forward  and  made  public  confession  of  their  faith 
in  Christ.  Each  man  spoke  in  clear,  decisive  tones.  Their 
names  were:  Giam  Chheng  Hoa,  aged  twenty-two,  scholar; 
Go  Ek  Ju,  aged  thirty-one,  painter;  Ong  Tiong  Sui,  aged 
twenty-four,  writer ;  Lim  Giet,  aged  twenty-six,  carpenter ; 
Lim  Poe,  aged  forty-two,  farmer.  They  were  then  baptized 
into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  after  which  each  addressed  the  people.  There  were 
many  yells,  jeers,  and  taunts,  but  A  Hoa  spoke  with  great 
boldness  and  effect. 

The  next  Sabbath  these  five  sat  around  the  Lord's  table. 
It  was  a  memorable  day  for  us  all.  Never  before  had  they  wit- 
nessed such  a  service.  Never  before  had  I  presided  at  such 
a  communion,  and  when  I  read  the  solemn  warrant  for  the  ob- 
servance of  this  sacrament  all  were  visibly  affected.  Poor  Lim 
Giet  broke  down  completely,  sobbing  out,  "  I  am  unworthy,  I 
am  unworthy ;"  and  it  was  only  after  he  had  spent  some  time 
in  prayer  in  the  little  room  that  he  could  be  induced  to  par- 
take of  the  sacred  elements.  That  first  communion  marked 
an  epoch  in  A  Hoa's  spiritual  history,  and  from  that  day  he 
regarded  himself  as  no  more  his  own,  but  fully  committed  to 
Jesus  Christ  and  called  to  his  service. 

But  God,  who  had  so  strangely  led  this  young  man,  and 
who  was  so  strangely  fitting  him  for  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
was  at  the  same  time  preparing  a  place  for  the  exercise  of  his 
gifts  and  making  ready  a  people  to  hear  his  word.  Ten  miles 
up  the  river  from  Tamsui  is  a  country  village  called  Go-ko- 
khi.  One  day,  while  I  was  preaching  in  our  rooms  at  Tamsui, 
a  widow  named  Thah-so,  from  that  village,  attended  the  ser- 


THE  FIRST  NATIVE  PREACHER  AND  HIS  CHURCH   M9 

vice,  and  at  the  close  came  up  and  said,  "  I  am  a  poor  widow 
living-  at  Go-ko-khi.  I  have  passed  through  many  trials  in 
this  world,  and  the  idols  never  gave  me  any  comfort.  I  like 
the  doctrines  you  proclaim  very  much,  and  I  believe  the  God 
you  tell  about  will  give  me  peace.  I  will  come  again  and 
bring  others."  Next  Lord's  day  she  was  there  with  several 
other  women.  Week  by  week  the  number  of  her  companions 
increased,  until  at  last  a  boat-load  would  come  down  the  river 
and  enter  the  preaching-room.  So  interested  were  they,  and 
so  much  in  earnest,  that  they  persuaded  us  to  visit  their  village. 
At  last  A  Hoa  and  I  went  up  the  river  to  Kan-tau,  then  to 
the  right  up  a  smaller  stream  that  ran  through  fine  rice-fields, 
until  we  reached  Go-ko-khi.  A  number  of  the  villagers  met 
us  and  led  the  way  to  the  house  of  Tan  Phauh,  the  head 
man.  He  was  a  tall,  strongly  built,  manly  looking  fellow,  and 
when  I  gave  him  some  commandment  sheets  he  pasted  them 
on  the  walls  of  his  house  in  the  presence  of  neighbors  and 
others ;  then,  turning  to  all,  he  said  that  he  had  lost  all  confi- 
dence in  idols,  and  was  determined  to  live  by  the  ten  com- 
mandments now  put  up. 

I  procured  an  empty  rice-granary  for  a  sleeping-room  and 
preaching-place.  There  we  began  our  work  and  made  our 
headquarters  for  several  months,  during  which  time  we 
preached  the  gospel  in  the  beautiful  valleys  and  villages  in 
that  vicinity.  Tan  Phauh,  the  head  man  at  Go-ko-khi,  gave 
a  plot  of  ground  opposite  his  own  house  for  a  chapel  site. 
Stones  were  collected,  sun-dried  bricks  prepared,  and  the 
wrork  of  building  the  first  chapel  in  North  Formosa  begun. 
There  was  great  interest  manifested  by  the  villagers,  but  when 
the  walls  were  about  three  feet  high  a  company  of  soldiers 
and  constables  sent  from  the  prefect  in  Bang-kah  arrived  and 
ordered  the  work  of  chapel-building  to  cease.  They  were 
armed  with  guns,  spears,  and  knives,  and  by  beating  gongs 
and  drums,  yelling,  threatening,  they  thought  to  frighten  the 


150  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

simple-minded  villagers.  When  they  entered  the  head  man's 
house  Tan  Phauh  drew  himself  up  to  his  full  six-feet-two 
and  faced  them.  He  was  originally  a  mainland  man,  who 
had  been  in  several  rebellions,  and  the  bluster  of  a  few  soldiers 
was  nothing  to  him.  Pointing  to  the  commandment  sheets  on 
the  wall,  he  said,  "  I  am  determined  to  abide  by  the  ten  com- 
mandments." The  soldiers  then  made  a  rush  for  Widow 
Thah-so's  house,  but  she  held  up  her  hymn-book  and  said  she 
was  resolved  to  worship  only  the  true  God.  Very  soon  the 
soldiers  left  the  village,  saying  that  the  "  foreign  devil "  had 
bewitched  the  villagers,  using  some  magic  art ;  and  their  supe- 
rior officer,  the  prefect  in  Bang-kah,  reported  the  case  to  the 
British  consul,  and  asked  that  the  missionary  be  prevented 
from  building  a  fort  and  taking  guns  up  the  river  by  night. 

But  despite  all  intrigues  and  plots  the  Lord's  work  pros- 
pered in  Go-ko-khi,  the  building  was  finished,  and  on  opening 
day  the  room  was  crowded,  while  many  stood  outside.  That 
was  our  first  chapel,  and  there  more  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  declared  their  rejection  of  idols  and  their  desire  for  Chris- 
tian instruction.  It  was  a  great  day  for  us,  and  that  night 
our  hearts  were  full  of  gratitude  because  of  all  that  the  Lord 
had  done.  We  met  in  the  chapel  regularly  for  instruction  and 
worship.  Many  of  those  who  came  were  still  heathen  idol- 
aters, and  none  of  them  were  accustomed  to  anything  like  a 
Christian  service  or  public  addresses.  Strange  indeed  are  a 
missionary's  first  experiences.  Sometimes  when  we  had  sung 
a  hymn  and  I  began  to  address  them,  one  or  two  would  take 
out  their  pieces  of  steel,  strike  a  flint,  light  their  long  pipes, 
and  when  the  smoke  ascended  I  would  pause  and  remind  them 
that  they  wanted  Christian  instruction  and  should  keep  quiet. 
"  Oh  yes,  yes,  we  must  keep  quiet,"  and  with  that  they  would 
nod  their  heads  with  great  politeness.  No  sooner  would  I 
get  fairly  started  again  than  some  one  would  spring  to  his  feet 
and  shout,  "  Buffaloes  in  the  rice-fields ;  buffaloes  in  the  rice- 


THE  FIRST  NATIVE  PREACHER  AND  HIS  CHURCH  151 

fields! "  Another  reminder  of  their  duty  would  bring  another 
reply :  "  Oh  yes,  yes,  we  must  keep  quiet."  And  for  a  few 
minutes  all  do  keep  quiet  and  I  go  on  with  my  address.  Then 
an  old  woman  with  her  little  feet  hobbles  to  the  door  and 
shouts  out,  "  Pig  has  gone  ;  pig  has  gone  ;  pig  has  gone !  "  One 
interruption  follows  another ;  but  we  never  blame  those  restless 
people,  for  such  services  are  strange  and  new  to  them.  Within 
two  months,  however,  the  congregation  assembled  in  the  chapel 
at  Go-ko-khi  was  just  as  attentive  as  any  I  ever  addressed 
anywhere  in  Christendom. 

A  Hoa,  the  first  convert,  was  appointed  preacher  in  the  first 
chapel,  and  chief  among  his  helpers  was  the  first  female  con- 
vert, Widow  Thah-so.  She  was  baptized  there  three  years 
afterward,  when  sixty-two  years  of  age.  A  Hoa's  natural  abil- 
ity, kindness  of  heart,  devotion,  and  sincerity  of  purpose  gave 
him  great  influence  in  Go-ko-khi  and  the  surrounding  country. 
Thah-so  grew  into  great  beauty  and  strength  of  character. 
She  continued  to  the  close  a  firm  believer  and  zealous  worker. 
In  1892  she  told  me  that  she  had  one  daughter  in  China,  who 
had  never  heard  the  gospel.  I  could  see  that  the  old  mother's 
heart  had  been  greatly  exercised,  and  that  she  was  "  again  in 
travail  until  Christ  be  formed "  in  her  daughter's  soul.  A 
passage  across  the  channel  was  arranged,  and  Thah-so  went 
in  search  of  her  child.  Her  visit  was  not  in  vain.  After 
remaining  with  her  daughter  for  several  weeks  she  returned 
home,  feeling  that  her  work  was  done  and  the  time  of  her  de- 
parture at  hand.  The  end  came  soon.  I  visited  her  a  day  or 
two  before  her  death.  For  two  days  she  was  quiet  and  silent ; 
then  suddenly  the  familiar  voice  was  heard  again  in  clear, 
strong  tones  singing  a  verse  of  the  psalm,  "  I  to  the  hills  will  lift 
mine  eyes,"  and  one  of  the  hymn,  "  Forever  with  the  Ford." 
When  she  came  to  the  line,  "  My  Father's  house  on  high,"  the 
voice  ceased  awhile.  Then  the  eyes  opened  wide,  the  face 
shone  as  with  a  radiant  light,  and  in  accents  sweeter  than  any 


i52  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

sounds  of  earth  the  words  came :  "  The  golden  gate  is  open. 
The  large  white  sedan-chair  is  coming  for  me.  Don't  keep 
me.  Don't  call  me  back.  I'm  going  home."  Thus  in  the 
"  white  sedan-chair,"  too  fair  and  beautiful  for  other  eyes 
than  hers  to  see,  the  strong  heroic  soul  of  our  first  "  mother  in 
Israel"  passed  away.  Dear  old  Thah-so!  For  twenty  years 
she  served  her  Lord  on  earth,  and  at  the  last  there  was  given 
her  an  abundant  entrance  into  the  eternal  kingdom. 


,M£P 

NORTH  FORMOSA. 


CHAPTER    XVI 


ESTABLISHING    CHURCHES 


Christianity  a  life — Every  convert  a  missionary — Tan  He — Church  at  Sin- 
tiam — Work  at  Tek-chham — Among  the  Hak-kas — At  Kelung — A 
pugilist — Subduing  banditti — Chapel  built  in  a  month — Most  beauti- 
ful church  in  Formosa — At  Tsui-tng-kha 

CHRISTIANITY  is  not  a  system  of  philosophy  that  may- 
be taught,  but  a  life  that  must  be  lived.  The  religion  of 
Jesus  is  distinguished  from  all  other  religions  in  its  incarnation. 
Its  power  is  the  power  of  a  divine  Personality.  It  is  propa- 
gated by  personal  contact.  Christ  gives  life  to  men,  and 
then  says,  "As  the  Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you." 
Every  Christian  is  a  missionary.  He  may  have  been  nursed 
in  the  lap  of  Christendom  and  trained  in  a  luxurious  religious 
home,  or  he  may  have  been  born  a  pagan  and  "suckled  on 
a  creed  outworn."  It  matters  not.  If  he  has  been  "born 
again,"  and  feels  the  throb  of  the  Christ-life,  he  is  a  mission- 
ary sent  by  the  living  Christ  to  touch  dead  souls  to  the  new- 
ness of  life.  This  primary  truth  needs  heavy  emphasis,  for 
there  is  everywhere  perpetual  danger  of  its  being  neglected. 
The  far-sweeping  purpose  of  the  election  of  grace  is  being 
ignored,  and  the  churches  are  crowded  with  people  whose 
largest  thought  of  salvation  is  that  their  own  souls  shall  be 
cared  for.  Not  until  Christianity  is  not  only  believed,  but 
lived,  will  the  churches  either  at  home  or  in  heathen  lands 
become  the  power  the  Master  meant  them  to  be. 

i53 


154  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

The  success  of  missionary  effort  in  North  Formosa  is  in  no 
small  measure  due  to  the  inculcation  of  this  primary  truth  of 
Christian  discipleship.  Converts  are  taught  that  the  grace  of 
God  has  been  given  to  them,  not  for  their  sakes  alone,  but  in 
order  that  they  may  be  channels  for  the  communication  of 
that  grace  to  others.  One  of  the  most  delightful  experiences 
in  a  missionary's  life  is  to  observe  how  eager  converts  are  to 
be  of  service  in  helping  others  out  of  the  darkness  of  heathen- 
ism from  which  they  have  so  recently  emerged.  Looking 
back  now  and  recalling  the  incidents  connected  with  the  estab- 
lishing of  churches,  it  is  surprising  to  note  in  how  many  cases 
the  way  was  opened,  humanly  speaking,  not  by  the  mission- 
ary's effort,  but  by  the  zeal  and  Christian  enterprise  of  the 
converts.  Some  of  the  most  conspicuous  and  useful  workers 
in  the  mission  were  found  as  Andrew  found  Simon  and  brought 
him  to  Jesus. 

One  evening  in  1873  a  young  man  who  had  been  attending 
our  services,  and  whom  I  knew,  entered  my  house  at  Tamsui, 
accompanied  by  a  stranger  who  seemed  reticent  and  bashful. 
The  young  man  introduced  his  companion,  saying,  "  This 
friend  of  mine  has  heard  the  gospel  and  is  now  a  believer  in 
Jesus  Christ.  We  have  talked  it  over  a  great  deal,  and 
he  desires  further  instruction,  that  he  may  tell  others  of  the 
Saviour."  I  had  some  conversation  with  the  stranger,  and 
was  impressed  by  his  earnestness  and  modesty.  He  was  a 
farmer's  son,  known  to  several  of  the  converts,  and  had  been 
attending  the  services,  in  which  he  became  deeply  interested. 
As  I  came  to  know  him  better  my  confidence  increased  and 
he  was  enrolled  as  a  student  for  the  ministry,  and  one  more 
faithful  never  studied  in  any  college.  He  is  now  known  as 
the  Rev.  Tan  He,  pastor  of  the  church  at  Sin-tiam. 

Sin-tiam  is  a  compact  and  busy  town  nestling  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountains  some  eighteen  miles  inland  from  Tamsui.  A 
man  living  there  had  been  at  Tamsui  and  had  heard  the  gos- 


ESTABLISHING   CHURCHES  155 

pel.  On  ln's  return  home  he  reported  to  his  friends,  where- 
upon several  others  came  out,  followed  us  in  our  touring  from 
place  to  place,  and  at  last  persuaded  us  to  visit  Sin-tiam. 
When  we  arrived  there  great  crowds  were  in  the  town,  it  being 
a  season  of  feasting  the  gods.  Very  few  of  the  people  had 
ever  seen  an  Anglo-Saxon,  and  on  all  hands  the  familiar  cries, 
"  Barbarian  !  Foreign  devil  ! "  could  be  heard.  Presently  a 
rush  was  made  toward  a  certain  point,  and  angry  voices  were 
heard  shouting,  "  The  barbarian  struck  a  boy."  This  was  an- 
swered by  wild  cries  from  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd :  "  Kill 
him!  Kill  the  barbarian;  he  is  not  very  big!"  As  we  were 
some  distance  from  the  center  of  attraction  I  pressed  through 
the  crowd  until  I  came  to  the  boy,  who  had  indeed  an  ugly 
wound  on  the  head,  which  was  bleeding  profusely.  Having 
the  necessary  surgical  instruments,  I  dressed  the  wound  and 
bound  it  with  my  handkerchief.  Now  a  new  cry  was  raised 
by  the  crowd:  "Ho  sim,  ho  sim!"  ("Good  heart,  good 
heart! ").  A  few  days  later  an  old  man  was  injured  by  falling 
upon  a  heap  of  stones.  One  of  the  students  carried  him  to  a 
shelter  under  a  tree,  where  his  suffering  was  relieved,  and 
again  the  cry,  "Good  heart,  good  heart!"  was  heard.  As  a 
result  the  people  became  friendly,  and  an  old  couple  gave  us 
the  use  of  a  room  for  our  services.  A  congregation  was  soon 
gathered  and  a  chapel  became  necessary.  One  rabid  idola- 
tress threatened  to  smash  my  head  with  a  stone  if  we  persisted 
in  building  a  chapel ;  but  the  work  went  on,  and  the  chapel 
of  unplastered  stones  was  finished  and  dedicated  to  the  wor- 
ship of  God. 

The  present  church  at  Sin-tiam  is  one  of  the  finest  buildings 
in  North  Formosa,  and  its  situation  one  of  the  most  pictur- 
esque. The  church  stands  on  the  rising  ground  at  one  end 
of  the  town,  its  stone  spire  being  the  one  conspicuous  object 
visible  for  miles  around.  A  stone  wall  incloses  the  church 
property.     The  Sin-tiam  River  sweeps  round  in  a  wide  curve 


i5b  l:ROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

a  few  rods  from  the  door,  the  space  between  being  covered 
with  "  stone  eggs,"  carried  down  by  freshets  and  worn  smooth 
by  the  water.  At  the  back  of  the  church  stands  a  high  bluff, 
the  slopes  of  which  are  covered  with  verdure.  In  front,  across 
the  river,  steep  hills  rise  abruptly  from  the  water's  edge,  ascend- 
ing tier  after  tier,  like  a  giant  stairway,  terminating  in  lofty 
mountain-peaks.  Clinging  to  the  slopes  are  groves  of  trees, 
feathery  grasses,  reeds  and  ferns  of  every  description ;  the 
moss-covered  rocks  are  festooned  with  great  masses  of  purple 
morning-glory  and  trailing  vines  of  pink  and  white  roses  ;  and 
everywhere  blooming  myrtle-trees,  pure  white  Easter  lilies,  and 
the  sweet-scented  honeysuckle  add  to  the  luxuriant  beauty  of 
the  scene. 

What  though  idols  of  camphor-wood  are  enshrined  in  many 
houses  in  Sin-tiam!  Here  stands  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  here  are  gathered,  week  after  week,  more  than  two  hun- 
dred who  bow  in  adoration  before  the  God  of  all  the  earth. 
They  have  endured  hardships  for  the  name  of  Jesus.  They 
have  been  robbed^  and  persecuted,  and  in  the  dark  waters  of 
the  swift-flowing  river  two  of  the  converts  faced  the  death  and 
won  the  crown  of  martyrs  for  the  faith. 

The  congregation  worshiping  in  the  beautiful  Sin-tiam  church 
is  now  self-sustaining,  supporting  their  pastor,  bearing  all  other 
expenses ;  and  although  by  no  means  wealthy,  they  contribute 
to  the  general  work  of  the  church  in  Formosa,  help  the  poor, 
and  send  voluntary  offerings  for  the  relief  of  famine-stricken 
districts.  Tan  He,  their  faithful  and  beloved  pastor,  wields 
a  great  influence,  and  is  growing  in  intellectual  and  spiritual 
strength  year  by  year. 

Tek-chham,  a  walled  city  of  forty  thousand  inhabitants,  was 
one  of  the  places  visited  on  my  first  trip  down  the  west  coast 
the  week  after  landing  at  Tamsui  in  1872.  I  had  a  "  prophet's 
chamber"  there,  and  after  frequent  visits  succeeded  in  renting 
a  small  house  for  chapel  purposes.    No  sooner  had  we  got  the 


ESTABLISHING   CHURCHES  157 

place  cleaned  out  than  indignant  crowds  filled  the  narrow  street, 
jostling,  reviling,  spitting  in  our  faces.  After  three  days  the 
turmoil  ceased,  largely  through  the  influence  of  a  literary  man 
to  whom  I  had  given  medicine  on  a  previous  occasion.  With- 
in a  month  thirty  persons  enrolled  themselves  as  Christians, 
and  larger  premises  had  to  be  secured.  The  work  grew  until 
a  still  larger  building  was  required.  There  is  now  a  large 
preaching-hall,  with  real  glass  in  the  front  windows  ;  and  there 
a  once  proud  Confucianist  graduate  is  preaching  the  gospel 
of  Christ.  In  the  country  round  about  Tek-chham  are  maHy 
Christians,  but  as  the  city  gates  are  closed  at  night  they  could 
not  attend  evening  service.  The  Christians  in  the  city  con- 
tributed money,  and  in  other  ways  assisted  in  securing  a  suit- 
able building  outside  the  wall,  and  there  another  literary  man 
is  preaching  Jesus  as  the  only  Saviour. 

Ten  miles  from  Tek-chham,  toward  the  mountains,  is  a  Hak- 
ka  village  called  Geh-bai.  To  this  village  we  were  led  by- 
several  Hak-kas  who  attended  services  in  the  city  church. 
The  villagers  assembled  under  a  beautiful  banian-tree,  where 
fully  a  thousand  people  could  find  shelter  from  the  broiling 
sun.  They  were  greatly  delighted,  and  one  fine  old  gentleman 
welcomed  us  to  his  house  for  the  night,  one  of  the  largest  and 
cleanest  in  the  island.  The  old  man  was  genuinely  interested, 
and  walked  many  times  to  Tek-chham  to  the  Sabbath  services 
there.  That  evening  a  great  crowd  gathered  in  the  open  court 
to  hear  the  new  doctrine.  One  man,  seventy  years  of  age, 
exerted  himself  with  such  success  that  a  house  was  rented,  re- 
paired, and  fitted  up  for  chapel  services.  The  congregation 
became  organized,  and  when  a  native  preacher  was  sent  among 
them  four  months  of  his  salary  was  paid  in  advance.  There 
in  that  Hak-ka  village,  high  among  the  hills,  is  a  flourishing, 
self-helping  Christian  congregation. 

The  church  at  Kelung  was  established  largely  through  the 
instrumentality  of  Ko  Chin,  a  convert  who  afterward  became 


I58  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

an  elder  and  preacher.  He  had  lived  with  his  family  among 
the  beautiful  green  hills  around  the  Kelung  harbor.  Becom- 
ing filled  with  the  desire  for  more  wealth,  he  moved  to  Sek- 
khau  and  became  an  extensive  cattle-buyer,  traveling  through 
the  whole  of  North  Formosa.  He  was  an  intense  idolater, 
and  being  something  of  a  musician,  became  somewhat  famous 
as  a  drummer  and  guitar-player  in  idolatrous  processions.  In 
1872,  a  few  months  after  I  began  to  preach  in  Tamsui,  he 
came  to  hear  the  "  barbarian."  The  following  Sabbath  he  was 
there  again.  When  a  chapel  was  opened  nearer  his  home  he 
attended  there,  walking  generally  ten  miles  to  be  present.  In 
Kelung  he  rented  a  house  and  furnished  it  as  a  place  of  wor- 
ship. On  the  appointed  day  I  was  escorted  to  the  place  to 
conduct  the  dedicatory  services.  More  than  four  hundred 
were  present.  Ko  Chin  continued  regular  and  faithful,  and 
at  the  age  of  forty-five  was  baptized.  Finding  his  business 
lucrative,  but  a  hindrance  to  Sabbath  observance,  he  gave  it 
up,  returned  to  the  old  homestead,  and  brought  up  his  entire 
family  to  worship  God.  In  due  time  he  was  ordained  an  elder 
in  the  Kelung  church,  and  subsequently  became  a  student  and 
finally  a  preacher  at  the  Margaret  Machar  Memorial  Church 
on  the  east  coast.  During  the  French  invasion  in  1884  his 
dwellings  at  Kelung  were  destroyed  by  looters,  his  property 
was  confiscated,  and  himself  and  family  persecuted.  In  a 
very  literal  sense  he  "  took  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  his  goods." 
His  services  as  preacher  were  blessed  of  God,  and  when  he 
fell  a  victim  to  the  malarial  fever  the  elders  and  deacons  of 
his  church  gathered  about  his  bed  and  sang  the  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty-first  Psalm,  the  first  he  ever  learned.  His  "going 
out "  was  kept  by  the  God  in  whom  he  put  his  trust. 

The  missionary  abroad,  like  the  missionary  at  home,  some- 
times finds  the  bread  cast  upon  the  waters  after  many  days. 
Back  of  the  Quan-yin  Mountain,  near  Tamsui,  is  a  beautiful 
plateau   in  which   stands  a   hamlet   called    I-khut   ("Round 


ESTABLISHING   CHURCHES  159 

Pool "),  where  we  have  a  chapel  and  congregation.  The  first 
man  to  show  interest  in  our  work  there  was  a  pugilist  and 
gambler  whom  I  had  met  shortly  after  landing  in  Formosa  in 
1872.  Going  through  the  valley,  I  passed  a  small  rice-shop 
where  were  several  gamblers  squatted  on  mats  on  the  floor.  I 
entered  into  conversation  with  them  and  asked  if  their  sage 
Confucius  would  not  be  displeased  with  them  for  their  waste 
of  time.  The  majority  seemed  indifferent,  but  one  became 
very  angry.  He  was  a  powerfully  built  man,  and  had  distin- 
guished himself  as  a  pugilist.  It  was  his  custom,  when  he  lost 
in  gambling,  to  use  physical  force  in  compelling  the  winner 
to  return  the  money.  Everybody — even  his  own  brother — 
dreaded  him.  He  was  very  angry  on  the  occasion  of  our  first 
meeting,  but  something  of  the  words  spoken  remained  in  his 
memory  and  touched  his  conscience.  In  after-years  he  fre- 
quently fell  in  with  converts  and  native  preachers,  and  began 
to  take  a  lively  interest  in  our  work.  In  due  time  he  joined  our 
ranks,  and  with  as  much  energy  as  he  had  put  into  the  works 
of  sin  he  entered  now  on  the  service  of  Christ  and  his  church. 
He  visited  the  people  in  that  locality,  exhorting  them  to  accept 
Christ,  and  the  result  of  his  enthusiastic  efforts  was  a  suitable 
building  and  a  flourishing  congregation. 

Twenty  years  ago  the  most  lawless  region  in  North  Formosa 
was  round  about  Sa-kak-eng,  a  town  of  two  thousand  inhabi- 
tants, northeast  from  Toa-kho-ham.  The  people  lived  in 
terror  of  a  large  band  of  ruffians  and  highwaymen  who  had 
their  headquarters  in  the  mountains  near  by.  The  customary 
method  of  redress — punishing  the  kindred  of  such  criminals — 
could  not  be  adopted,  as  the  relatives  of  these  banditti  lived 
either  on  the  mainland  of  China  or  in  out-of-the-way  places  in 
Formosa.  They  were  all  the  more  daring  because  the  towns- 
people sometimes  compromised  with  them,  and  when  it  suited 
their  purpose  joined  with  them  in  resisting  official  investiga- 
tion and  interference.     The  subprefect  and  retinue  narrowly 


160  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

escaped  death  on  one  occasion,  his  sedan-chair  being  pierced 
by  spears  and  lances.  The  banditti  would  form  a  company 
and  march  into  the  town,  singing  boastfully,  with  a  wild  kind 

of>rell>  "Linkhokoa; 

Goan  kho  soa;  " 

which  means,  "  You  trust  the  mandarins ;  we  trust  the  moun- 
tains." I  had  very  great  difficulty  in  gaining  an  entrance  into 
Sa-kak-eng,  and  when  the  chief  of  a  strong  clan  gave  me  a 
room  in  the  rear  of  his  shop  there  were  loud  threats  of  drag- 
ging us  to  the  hills,  gagging  us,  and  gouging  out  our  eyes.  So 
violent  was  the  opposition  that  I  had  to  change  my  quarters 
to  the  outskirts  of  the  town.  The  mob  often  surrounded  the 
building,  and  once  when  A  Hoa  and  I  came  out  of  the  door 
a  howl  was  raised,  and  a  large  flat  stone  flung  by  a  man  near 
by  grazed  the  top  of  my  head,  and,  striking  against  the  wall, 
was  broken  into  three  pieces.  Neither  of  us  flinched,  but, 
turning  round,  I  picked  up  the  pieces  of  stone  as  mementos  of 
the  day.  One  of  the  pieces  weighed  three  pounds ;  another  I 
brought  as  a  contribution  to  the  museum  in  Knox  College, 
Toronto.  Several  months  afterward,  on  entering  the  chapel,  I 
saw  a  man  lying  on  a  bench.  He  rose  to  his  feet,  and,  bow- 
ing low,  said,  "  Will  you  forgive  me  ?  "  He  then  confessed 
that  he  was  the  man  who  threw  the  stone,  and  that  his  inten- 
tion was  to  put  an  end  to  my  life.  For  the  next  three  months 
he  was  with  the  native  preacher  every  day,  and  before  the 
year  closed  he  passed  away  rejoicing  in  the  hope  of  salvation 
through  Christ.  Sa-kak-eng  is  quite  a  changed  place.  The 
desperadoes  have  been  scattered,  their  forest  retreats  cleared 
and  cultivated,  chapel  buildings  purchased,  prejudices  against 
converts  and  preachers  overcome,  and  every  year  marks  pro- 
gress. On  our  last  visit  we  were  escorted  in  high  honor  to  the 
next  chapel,  four  miles  away,  a  band  of  music  leading  the 
procession. 


ESTABLISHING    CHURCHES  161 

At  Pat-li-hun,  across  the  harbor  from  Tamsui,  at  the  foot  of 
the  Quan-yin  Mountain,  stands  a  solid  and  handsome  chapel 
that  was  built  within  one  month.  Our  first  place  of  worship 
there  was  a  banian-tree,  our  next  a  fisherman's  house,  then  a 
slender  grass-covered  structure,  and  then  a  building  of  dried 
mud.  This  last  being  destroyed  during  the  troubles  with  the 
French,  we  resolved  on  erecting  a  more  substantial  structure. 
On  the  first  day  of  May  the  stones  for  the  foundation  were 
ungathered  on  the  mountain-side,  the  lumber  and  bricks  were 
up  the  Tamsui  River  at  Toa-tiu-tia,  the  coral  for  lime  was  un- 
bumed,  and  the  clay  undug.  The  plans  were  drawn,  masons 
and  carpenters  employed,  and  the  work  pushed  forward.  The 
thermometer  stood  at  times  at  one  hundred  and  twenty,  and 
the  blowing  sand  inflamed  our  eyes ;  but  on  the  last  day  of 
May  the  work  was  completed  and  the  chapel  ready  for  occu- 
pation. The  walls  of  sun-dried  and  burnt  brick  are  two  and 
a  half  feet  thick,  plastered  white  on  the  inner  side,  finished  in 
stucco-work  without,  and  strong  as  solid  masonry,  having  with- 
stood rain-storms,  hurricanes,  and  earthquakes. 

The  most  beautiful  church  in  all  the  mission  is  at  Toa-tiu- 
tia.  This  town  stretches  along  the  Tamsui  River  about  a 
mile  from  Bang-kah,  and  almost  connected  with  the  new 
walled  city  of  Tai-pak-fu,  and  is  the  most  progressive  place  of 
business  in  North  Formosa.  The  railway-bridge  across,  the 
river  is  fourteen  hundred  and  sixty-four  feet  long.  All  the 
British  and  other  Western  merchants  have  establishments  there. 
Our  church  is  a  splendid  structure  of  stone,  with  turrets  and 
tower  and  a  capacious  auditorium.  I  have  seen  that  church 
crowded  from  platform  to  door  with  eager  and  attentive  hear- 
ers;  and  on  October  18,  1891,  after  preaching  to  over  five 
hundred  people  from  the  text,  "  The  Lord  is  a  great  God,  and 
a  great  King  above  all  gods,"  I  dispensed  the  sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  communicants. 
In  the  congregation  there  was  a  stranger,  a  Corean  Christian, 


1 62  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

named  Phok  I  Peng,  who  was  traveling  through  Formosa  in 
search  of  his  brother.  So  impressed  was  he  by  the  eagerness 
of  the  Chinese  converts  and  the  heartiness  of  their  worship 
that  he  said  at  the  close,  "This  is  truly  the  kingdom  of  God 
come  down  to  earth.  I  can  never  forget  this  scene.  Peace 
to  you  all." 

Ten  miles  east  of  the  city  of  Bang-kah,  on  the  south  bank 
of  the  Kelung  River,  is  a  town  of  four  thousand  inhabitants, 
called  Tsui-tng-kha.  In  1890  a  new  building,  costing  seven 
hundred  dollars  (Mexican),  was  erected  there  by  the  native 
Christians.  The  entire  cost  of  both  site  and  building  was  paid 
by  the  churches  in  Formosa,  and  the  deed  of  the  property  is 
stamped  in  the  name  of  the  native  church.  A  Hoa  planned 
the  building  and  superintended  its  erection,  and  now  a  native 
preacher  is  stationed  there. 

The  conduct  of  two  members  of  the  church  at  Tsui-tng-kha 
is  an  answer  to  the  question  often  asked  about  the  stability  of 
Chinese  converts.  Several  years  ago  a  man  of  the  Tan  clan 
allowed  his  eldest  son  to  attend  the  chapel  services  to  see 
what  kind  of  doctrine  was  taught.  The  young  man  became 
interested  and  brought  two  younger  brothers.  One  of  the 
members  of  the  church  taught  them  to  read  the  romanized 
colloquial,  and  they  studied  the  gospel  with  growing  earnest- 
ness, until  all  three  confessed  their  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  Then 
they  refused  to  worship  idols  and  ancestral  tablets  in  their 
home.  This  aroused  the  father's  wrath,  who,  fearing  there 
would  be  no  one  to  worship  at  his  grave,  forbade  his  sons' 
going  again  to  the  chapel,  and  ordered  them  to  attend  idola- 
trous ceremonies  every  night.  To  pacify  their  enraged  parent 
they  resolved  to  "bow  in  the  house  of  Rimmon,"  but  while 
the)'-  held  the  lighted  incense-sticks  before  the  idol  they  turned 
their  heads  away.  But  they  still  attended  the  chapel  services, 
which  when  their  father  found  out,  he  visited  the  chapel  se- 
cretly ;  and  when  he  saw  his  sons  singing  praise  to  Jehovah-God 


ESTABLISHING   CHURCHES  163 

he  shrieked  and  ran  about  like  one  mad.  After  this  they  met 
together  on  the  Sabbath  in  some  quiet  place  in  the  mountains, 
and  sang,  prayed,  and  read  the  Word,  praying  most  of  all  for 
their  angry  father.  Then  they  would  meet  at  night  in  a  grass 
watch-house  among  the  rice-fields.  But  nowhere  were  they 
long  unmolested.  Their  father's  anger  became  more  cruel 
and  watchful.  At  the  close  of  the  year  preparations  were 
being  made  for  the  customary  idol  festival.  They  refused  to 
take  part  in  the  ceremonies.  He  became  wild  with  rage,  and, 
seizing  a  long  knife,  rushed  at  the  eldest  son.  They  all  escaped 
and  found  refuge  in  a  convert's  house.  The  father  would  not 
be  appeased,  and  drove  his  daughters-in-law,  with  their  little 
children,  out  of  the  house.  Neither  the  sons  nor  their  wives 
dared  come  near  the  place.  Then  the  mother's  heart  relented. 
She  could  not  give  up  her  children,  and  after  much  pleading 
the  father  gave  her  the  knife  and  promised  not  to  injure  the 
sons  should  they  return.  They  did  return.  The  father  for- 
gave them,  and  they  were  permitted  to  worship  God  in  the 
home  ;  and  on  every  Lord's  day,  with  their  wives  and  children, 
they  joined  in  the  services  in  the  chapel  at  Tsui-tng-kha. 


CHAPTER   XVII 


HOW    BANG-KAH    WAS    TAKEN 


The  stronghold — Waiting  an  opportunity — Forbidden — Expelled — Back 
again — Mobbed — Victorious — Changes — Honored 

BANG-KAH  was  the  Gibraltar  of  heathenism  in  North  For- 
mosa. It  is  the  largest  and  most  important  city,  thoroughly 
Chinese,  and  intensely  anti-foreign  in  all  its  interests  and  sym- 
pathies. In  1872  I  visited  it  with  A  Hoa  and  got  a  foretaste 
of  the  reception  awaiting  me  on  every  subsequent  occasion. 
In  my  journal  of  1875  I  find  the  following  entry,  made  after 
having  experienced  anew  the  malignant  hate  of  the  Bang-kah 
people : 

"  The  citizens  of  Bang-kah,  old  and  young,  are  daily  toiling 
for  money,  money — cas/i,  cash.  They  are  materialistic,  super- 
stitious dollar-seekers.  At  every  visit,  when  passing  through 
their  streets,  we  are  maligned,  jeered  at,  and  abused.  Hun- 
dreds of  children  run  ahead,  yelling  with  derisive  shouts ; 
others  follow,  pelting  us  with  orange-peel,  mud,  and  rotten 
eggs.  For  hatred  to  foreigners,  for  pride,  swaggering  igno- 
rance, and  conceit,  for  superstitious,  sensual,  haughty,  double- 
faced  wickedness,  Bang-kah  takes  the  palm.  But  remember, 
O  haughty  city,  even  these  eyes  will  yet  see  thee  humble  in 
the  dust.  Thou  art  mighty  now,  proud,  and  full  of  malice ; 
but  thy  power  shall  fall,  and  thou  shalt  be  brought  low.  Thy 
filthy  streets  are  indicative  of  thy  moral  rottenness ;  thy  low 
houses  show  thy  baseness  in  the  face  of  heaven.     Repent,  O 

164 


HO  IV  BANG-KAH   IV AS   TAKEN  165 

Bang-kah,  thou  wicked  city,  or  the  trumpet  shall  blow  and  thy 
tears  be  in  vain !  " 

We  had  previously  established  churches  north,  south,  east, 
and  west  of  Bang-kah.  She  sent  hirelings  to  surrounding- 
villages  and  towns  to  reprimand  the  magistrates,  incite  the 
people,  and  frustrate  us  in  the  execution  of  our  work.  Three 
large  clans,  through  their  head  men,  ruled  the  city.  All  the 
others  had  to  acquiesce  in  every  proposal.  Foreign  merchants 
never  succeeded  in  establishing  themselves  there.  Attempts 
were  made,  but  their  Chinese  agents  were  dragged  out  of  the 
city  and  narrowly  escaped  death.  It  might  seem  that  mission 
work  should  have  been  begun  in  Bang-kah  first.  Indeed,  I 
received  a  communication  fron;  a  very  devoted  and  excellent 
missionary  in  China — one  who  has  now  gone  to  his  reward — 
in  which  he  said,  "  I  hear  you  have  stations  in  several  towns 
and  villages.  Why  don't  you  begin  at  Jerusalem?"  Now  I 
did  not  begin  at  the  "Jerusalem"  of  heathenism  for  the  same 
reason  that  I  did  not  go  to  Madagascar  or  to  India.  I  sought 
to  follow  the  lead  of  my  Captain.  He  led  me  to  Formosa, 
and  to  point  after  point  where  chapels  were  already  opened.  I 
knew  the  time  would  come  when  Bang-kah  would  be  entered. 

The  authorities  of  Bang-kah  issued  proclamations  calling  on 
all  citizens,  on  pain  of  imprisonment  or  death,  not  to  rent, 
lease,  or  sell  either  houses  or  other  property  to  the  barbarian 
missionary.  But  in  December,  1877,  the  time  came  for  estab- 
lishing a  mission  there,  and  in  spite  of  all  their  attempts  to 
prevent  our  entrance  I  succeeded  in  renting  a  low  hovel  on 
the  eastern  side.  On  getting  possession  I  placed  a  tablet  of 
paper  on  a  wooden  frame  above  the  door,  with  the  inscription, 
"Jesus' "Holy  Temple."  Shortly  afterward  several  soldiers 
who  were  returning  to  their  encampment  near  by  came,  stood, 
looked  up,  read  the  inscription,  and  immediately  threatened 
me  with  violence.  Then  they  returned  to  their  encampment 
and  reported  to   the  general,  who  despatched   a  number  of 


1 66  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

officers  to  order  me  out  of  the  place,  stating  that  the  site  be- 
longed to  the  military  authorities.  I  demanded  proof  of  their 
statement.  It  was  produced,  and  it  was  at  once  evident  that 
I  could  not  maintain  my  position  there.  We  must  respect 
Chinese  law  and  act  wisely  if  we  would  successfully  carry  on 
the  Lord's  work,  and  so  I  at  once  admitted  their  claim,  but 
stated  that,  as  I  had  rented  from  a  citizen,  I  would  not  leave 
that  night.  Till  long  past  midnight  angry  soldiers  paraded 
the  streets,  shouting  threatening  wTords.  At  times  they  were 
at  the  door,  on  the  point  of  smashing  it,  rushing  in,  and  dis- 
posing of  me  with  their  weapons.  Again  and  again  they  ap- 
proached, and  it  seemed  in  that  dark,  damp  place  as  if  my  end 
were  at  hand.  On  leaving  the  place  in  the  morning  great 
crowds  went  in  front ;  others  followed  after,  jostling  and  sneer- 
ing; and  many  viewed  me  from  their  low-roofed  houses  and 
flung  filth  and  missiles  down  at  me.  It  took  me  several  hours 
to  make  my  way  a  short  distance  to  the  river's  bank.  Enter- 
ing a  boat,  I  went  down  the  river  to  the  Toa-liong-pong 
chapel,  three  miles  away,  to  find  my  students.  We  spent  the 
rest  of  the  day  there,  and  in  the  evening,  after  preaching  in 
the  chapel,  we  entered  the  little  room  and  prayed  to  the  God 
of  heaven  to  give  us  an  entrance  into  the  city  of  Bang-kah. 
Rising  from  prayer,  we  returned  immediately  to  the  city.  It 
was  dark,  but  some  lights  were  visible.  Not  knowing  exactly 
whither  we  were  going,  we  met  an  old  man,  and  inquired  if 
he  knew  any  one  who  would  rent  even  a  small  house  for  mis- 
sion work.  "Yes,"  he  replied,  "I  will  rent  you  mine."  We 
accompanied  him,  and,  passing  through  dark  streets  and  over 
rubbish,  came  to  a  small  back  door  opening  into  a  dirty  room 
with  mud-floor.  We  entered  and  began  to  write  a  rental 
paper.  The  house  had  to  be  rented  by  a  native,  for  foreigners 
cannot  hold  property  away  from  the  treaty  ports.  To  be  par- 
ticular I  said,  "Do  you  own  the  site?"  "Oh  no,"  said  he, 
"but  I  can  secure  the  owner  this  very  night."     In  half  an 


HO W  BANG-KAH   WAS   TAKEN  167 

hour  the  owner  was  with  us,  another  paper  prepared,  and  both 
contracts  signed  and  stamped.  I  was  in  full  possession,  and 
that  according  to  Chinese  law,  by  midnight.  He  gave  us 
possession  at  once,  crept  out  a  back  way,  and  disappeared. 

In  the  morning  I  put  up  a  tablet  over  the  door  with  the 
same  inscription  as  before:  "Jesus'  Holy  Temple."  In  less 
than  an  hour  crowds  filled  the  street,  and  the  open  space  in 
front  of  a  large  temple  was  thronged  with  angry  citizens. 
People  came  and  went  the  whole  day  long.  The  second  day 
the  whole  city  was  in  an  uproar,  and  the  hubbub  produced 
by  their  thousand  voices  fell  very  unpleasantly  upon  our  ears. 
Still  I  walked  the  street  among  them,  now  and  again  extracting 
teeth,  for  we  had  friends  even  among  so  many  enemies.  On 
the  third  day  lepers  and  beggars  and  other  lewd  fellows,  hired 
to  molest  us,  pressed  around  with  their  swollen  ears  and  dis- 
gusting-looking features.  They  tried  to  rub  against  us,  expect- 
ing us  soon  to  quit  the  premises.  About  four  or  five  o'clock 
the  excitement  grew  to  a  white  heat.  Hundreds  -had  their 
cues  tied  around  their  necks,  and  blue  cloth  about  their  loins, 
to  signify  that  they  were  ready  for  the  fray.  One  stooped 
down,  picked  up  a  stone,  and  hurled  it  against  the  building. 
In  a  moment  their  screams  were  deafening.  They  were  on 
the  roof,  within  and  without,  and  the  house  was  literally  torn 
to  pieces  and  carried  away.  No  material  was  left.  They 
actually  dug  up  the  stones  of  the  foundation  with  their  hands, 
and  stood  spitting  on  the  site.  We  moved  right  across  the 
street  into  an  inn.  No  sooner  had  we  done  this  than  scores 
were  on  the  roof  and  many  more  climbing  the  walls.  The 
crash  of  tiles  could  be  heard  as  they  attempted  to  force  an 
entrance.  By  this  time  the  shouts  and  yells  were  inhuman. 
One  who  has  never  heard  the  fiendish  yells  of  a  murderous 
Chinese  mob  can  have  no  conception  of  their  hideousness. 
The  innkeeper  came  to  us  with  the  key  of  the  door  in  his  hand 
and  begged  us  to  leave,  lest  his  house  be  destroyed. 


1 68  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

Then  there  was  a  lull.  The  Chinese  mandarin,  in  his  large 
sedan-chair,  with  his  body-guard  around  him,  and  with  soldiers 
following,  was  at  the  door.  Just  then,  too,  her  Britannic  Maj- 
esty's consul  at  Tamsui,  Mr.  Scott,  put  in  an  appearance.  We 
sat  down  together.  The  Chinese  official  told  the  consul  to 
order  the  missionary  away  from  the  city.  The  consul  quickly 
retorted,  "  I  have  no  authority  to  give  such  an  order ;  on  the 
other  hand,  you  must  protect  him  as  a  British  subject."  I 
love  British  officials  of  that  caliber.  When  the  consul  left  I 
accompanied  him  to  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  On  my  return 
the  mandarin  was  literally  on  his  knees  beseeching  me  to  leave 
the  city.  I  showed  him  my  forceps  and  my  Bible,  and  told 
him  I  would  not  quit  the  city,  but  would  extract  teeth  and 
preach  the  gospel.  He  went  away  very  much  chagrined,  but 
left  a  squad  of  soldiers  to  guard  the  place.  In  two  or  three 
days  the  excitement  subsided.  In  a  week  I  was  offered  a  site 
outside  the  city,  and  the  promise  of  help  from  the  Chinese 
authorities  to  erect  a  building  there.  I  refused  point-blank. 
As  I  was  lawfully  in  possession  of  the  site  as  well  as  of  the 
building  which  had  been  destroyed,  I  was  determined  to  have 
our  mission  building  in  Bang-kah,  and  on  that  spot.  The 
officials  then  said  that  I  would  not  be  allowed  to  build  in  that 
place  again  because  it  was  within  only  a  few  feet  of  the  exam- 
ination hall,  although,  in  fact,  the  hall  was  a  mile  and  a  half 
away.  Having  exhausted  their  whole  stock  of  excuses  and 
subterfuges,  they  yielded.  I  erected  a  small  building  on  the 
original  site — not  one  inch  one  way  or  another — and  opened 
it,  with  soldiers  parading  the  street  to  preserve  the  peace.  Still 
the  three  strong  clans  continued  to  be  bitterly  opposed  to  us 
and  our  work.  Every  citizen  who  dared  to  become  even  a 
hearer  was  boycotted.  The  former  owner  of  the  site  had  to 
flee  for  his  life.  In  time  a  few  became  friendly.  We  pur- 
chased a  larger  site  and  erected  a  good,  commodious  place  of 
worship,  roofed  with   tiles.     During  the   French  invasion  in 


HOW  BANG-KAH   WAS    TAKEN  169 

1884  that  building  was  destroyed  by  the  looters,  the  materials 
carried  away,  and  indignities  heaped  upon  the  preacher  and 
converts.  Within  three  months  after  the  cessation  of  French 
hostilities  three  stone  churches  were  erected.  One  of  these  was 
in  Bang-kah.  It  is  a  solid,  handsome,  substantial  church,  with 
stone  spire  seventy  feet  high,  and  lightning-rod  three  feet 
higher.  It  is  of  stone  hewn  at  the  quarry;  has  pillars  and 
turrets  of  modern  style ;  the  inside  is  plastered  beautifully 
white,  the  outside  finished  in  stucco-plaster  like  colored  stone- 
work. There  are  rooms  for  the  preacher,  and  an  upper  room 
— the  only  one  in  the  mission — for  the  missionary. 

In  1879  six  students  and  I,  on  foot,  and  my  wife  in  a  sedan- 
chair,  were  going  through  one  of  the  streets  after  dark  on  our 
way  to  the  chapel.  It  was  the  tenth  day  of  a  heathen  feast, 
and  the  idolatrous  procession  was  about  to  disband,  so  that 
the  devotees  were  wrought  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of  fury  and 
agitation.  There  were  thousands  of  them  in  the  procession, 
leaping  and  yelling  as  if  under  the  afflatus  of  evil  spirits.  We 
were  recognized.  There  was  a  pause,  and  a  torch  was  thrust 
into  the  face  of  my  wife  in  the  chair,  nearly  destroying  her 
eyes.  A  dozen  dragged  two  students  by  their  cues,  while 
others  were  tumbling  a  third  on  the  stone  pavement.  Wilder 
and  wilder  grew  the  infuriated  mob.  Louder  and  louder 
sounded  their  gongs  and  yells.  Things  looked  dangerous, 
when  an  old  man  from  a  house  right  there  rushed  up  and  said, 
"  This  is  Kai  Bok-su,  the  barbarian  teacher.  Do  not  interfere 
with  him  or  his  company.  Take  my  advice  and  go  on  in  your 
procession."  Fortunately  there  was  a  narrow  lane  at  right 
angles  to  the  street  where  we  met  the  processionists.  Into  this 
he  hurried  us  out  of  danger.  We  went  directly  to  the  chapel, 
where  I  preached  on  the  words  of  the  psalm,  "  As  the  moun- 
tain, are  round  about  Jerusalem,  so  the  Lord  is  round  about 
his  people  from  henceforth  even  forever." 

Changes  have  taken  place  in  that  once  proud  city.     In  1887 


17°  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

I  was  there  during  the  time  of  idolatrous  rites  and  processions. 
Perhaps  there  never  was  such  a  gathering  of  people  in  that 
city  before.  A  Hoa  and  myself  took  our  position  purposely 
at  various  places  near  the  temple,  on  the  cross-streets,  by  the 
wayside,  and  on  the  wall  of  the  new  city.  Once  we  were 
right  above  the  gateway  through  which  the  processionists 
passed,  but  we  were  neither  molested  nor  slandered.  They 
went  along  with  smiling  faces.  That  very  evening  we  sat  in 
front  of  the  large  temple  where  years  before  the  mob  met  to 
kill  us.  The  same  Bang-kah  head  men  were  in  the  procession, 
and  as  they  came  near  us  they  halted  and  greeted  us  kindly. 
Before  dark  I  extracted  five  hundred  and  thirteen  teeth  and 
addressed  an  immense  throng.  But  what  a  change!  Who 
ever  dreamed  of  such  a  change!  I  never  witnessed  such  a 
half-hearted,  listless  procession.  By  removing  an  idol  or  two 
the  whole  performance  would  have  amounted  to  little  more 
than  a  sight-seeing  farce.  But  idolatry  is  far  from  being  dead 
yet.  There  is  indeed  a  great  change,  but  hard  battles  must 
yet  be  fought  before  heathen  hearts  will  yield  to  Jesus  and 
follow  him. 

But  it  was  on  the  eve  of  our  departure  to  Canada  in  1893 
that  Bang-kah  gave  evidence  of  the  greatness  of  the  change 
produced  in  that  city.  In  the  chapel,  on  the  occasion  of  our 
last  visit,  two  marriage  ceremonies  were  performed  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  large  assembly.  The  head  men  of  the  city  sent  their 
visiting-cards,  with  a  message  to  ask  if  I  would  be  willing  to 
sit  in  a  sedan-chair  and  be  carried  in  honor  through  the  streets 
of  their  city.  I  begged  some  time  to  consider,  and  decided 
that,  as  in  the  past  they  had  acted  toward  us  as  they  chose,  so 
now  I  would  allow  them  to  do  the  same.  A  procession  was 
formed  on  the  same  level  ground,  near  the  same  old  temple. 
Eight  bands  of  music,  with  cymbals,  drums,  gongs,  pipes,  gui- 
tars, mandolins,  tambourines,  and  clarionets,  took  the  lead. 
Men  and  boys  with  flags,  streamers,  and  banners  followed ; 


HOIP'  BANG-KAH    li  AS    TAKEN  i  7  ' 

scores  with  squibs  and  fire-crackers  set  off  after  the  manner  oi 
Cliinese  celebrations.  Five  head  men,  a  magistrate,  a  military 
official,  and  two  civil  officials  came  next  in  order;  and  then 
three  large  red  "  umbrellas  of  honor,"  with  three  flounces  each, 
presented  by  the  people,  with  their  names  inscribed,  were  car- 
ried in  front  of  me,  as  I  sat  in  a  handsome  silk-lined  sedan- 
chair.  Following  the  chair  were  six  men  on  horseback,  twenty- 
six  sedan-chairs,  three  hundred  footmen  in  regular  order,  and 
various  other  parties  behind.  Thus  we  passed  through  the 
streets  of  Bang-kah,  and  on  all  hands  received  tokens  of  re- 
spect and  honor. 

On  arriving  at  Bang-kah  "jetty,"  where  the  steam-launch 
was  waiting,  our  Christians  stood  and  sang,  "  I'm  not  ashamed 
to  own  my  Lord."  Heathen  and  Christian  alike  cheered  us 
as  we  boarded  the  launch.  Two  bands  of  music  accompanied 
us  all  the  way  to  Tamsui,  and  from  the  launch  right  up  to  our 
dwelling-house.  In  front  of  our  door  was  the  climax  of  the 
demonstration.  And  all  this  was  from  the  head  men  and  citi- 
zens of  Bang-kah,  the  erstwhile  Gibraltar  of  heathenism.  And 
thus  was  Bang-kah  taken.  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us, 
but  unto  thy  holy  name,  be  the  glory! 


CHAPTER    XVIII 


TOURING    IN    THE    NORTH 


Traveling  on  foot — "  Perils  of  waters  " — Sedan-chair — Rickshaw — Rail- 
way— Struggling  with  a  donkey — Change  and  incident — With  a  hill- 
man — An  old  Confucianist — Doomed  savages — Among  pioneers — A 
man  of  faith — At  Lam-kham — An  opium-smoker — Pleasant  memories 

THE  headquarters  of  the  mission  in  North  Formosa  are  at 
Tamsui,  and  from  that  point  tours  are  frequently  made, 
visiting  the  churches  in  order  and  exploring  the  regions  beyond. 
This  is  a  most  important  part  of  the  missionary's  work.  Re- 
sponsibility is  put  upon  the  native  preachers  settled  at  the  vari- 
ous chapels,  but  oversight  is  required  in  matters  of  organization 
and  administration.  These  periodical  visits  are  encouraging 
to  the  preachers  and  stimulating  to  the  members.  In  making 
tours  of  the  churches  I  never  travel  alone,  but  always  with  a 
company  of  students,  who  are  in  this  way  introduced  to  the 
work  and  become  acquainted  with  missionary  methods. 

There  are  many  modes  of  traveling,  the  chief  of  which  is 
traveling  on  foot.  It  is  often  dangerous  and  always  wearisome. 
The  paths  are  so  rough — now  over  mountains,  now  across  hot, 
blowing  sands,  now  through  jungle — and  the  mountain  torrents, 
especially  during  the  rainy  season,  are  so  numerous  and  diffi- 
cult to  cross,  that  there  is  little  physical  enjoyment.  Sometimes 
the  traveler  is  carried  across  the  stream  on  the  shoulders  of  a 
coolie.  Generally  we  wade  the  streams,  going  in  pairs,  hand 
in  hand,  holding  in  the  disengaged  hand  a  long  bamboo  pole 
with  which  to  feel  the  way.     On  one  occasion  Lien  Ho,  one 

172 


;_    r. 

z 

o 

§1 

§  s 

I-  •- 


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a*    u 
Q     3 


TOURING   IN   THE  NORTH  1 73 

of  the  preachers,  was  nearly  drowned.  His  companion  slipped 
and  fell,  and  losing  his  hold,  he  was  swept  down  by  the  cur- 
rent, tumbling  over  and  over  in  the  seething  waters,  until  at 
a  sharp  curve  in  the  stream  he  was  rescued  by  two  of  the  stu- 
dents who  were  on  shore.  At  some  points  there  are  ferry-boats, 
and  by  holding  on  to  a  rattan  stretched  across  the  stream  and 
spiked  to  trees  at  either  end,  the  boatmen  cross  with  ease  and 
safety.  Sometimes  the  boats  are  abandoned  by  their  owners 
and  left  on  the  rocks.  Once  we  came  to  a  broad,  rapid  stream 
and  saw  a  boat  on  the  opposite  shore.  The  boatman  was  no- 
where to  be  seen,  and  no  answer  came  to  our  calls.  At  last 
two  of  our  students  swam  across  and  fastened  the  end  of  a  long 
rope  to  the  boat,  by  which  it  was  hauled  to  our  side.  Several 
volunteered  to  be  oarsmen,  and  when  we  had  all  crouched  on 
the  bottom  they  shoved  out  from  shore.  But  they  were  power- 
less in  such  a  current.  In  spite  of  all  their  efforts  the  boat  was 
carried  down  the  stream  and  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  stones 
of  a  dam  a  short  distance  below.  Beyond  a  few  bruises  and  a 
thorough  wetting  we  were  none  the  worse.  We  never  thought 
of  kindling  a  fire  to  dry  our  clothes,  for  we  knew  that  another 
stream  and  another  had  to  be  crossed,  and  a  similar  experience 
might  await  us  at  each.  Travelers  are  not  always  in  ''perils  of 
waters,"  for  during  fine  weather  in  some  districts  the  roads  are 
good  and  the  streams  bridged  or  easily  forded ;  but  in  other 
parts  and  at  other  seasons  an  unexpected  bath  is  of  frequent 
occurrence. 

On  most  of  the  larger  rivers  are  numerous  boats  which  carry 
passengers  up  or  down  stream.  These  boats  are  made  of 
camphor-wood  planks,  wide,  flat-bottomed,  and  light.  They 
are  built  to  run  the  rapids,  and  are  called  "rapid  boats." 
Going  downstream  the  steersman  stands  in  the  bow  with  a  long 
oar,  and  the  trip  is  generally  pleasant.  The  trip  upstream  is 
very  tedious ;  the  boatmen,  wading  through  the  water,  grasp- 
ing a  pole  tied  across  the  bow,  haul  the  boat  slowly  along. 


174  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

The  sedan-chair  is  another  vehicle  of  travel.  It  is  carried 
by  two  or  four  coolies,  who  can  go  twenty  miles  a  day.  Hie 
sedan-chair  is  sometimes  a  necessity  ;  but  to  sit  cooped  up  in 
such  a  box  is  to  any  foreigner  who  loves  scenery  and  fresh  air 
a  great  discomfort. 

The  rickshaw,  a  light  covered  gig  drawn  by  a  coolie,  is  very 
common,  especially  on  the  roads  connecting  I3ang-kah,  Toa- 
tiu-tia,  and  Tai-pe-fu.  These  cities  are  situated  at  the  points 
of  a  triangle,  each  about  three  miles  from  the  others ;  and  the 
roads  between  are  wide  and  good,  having  been  built  by  that 
energetic  and  progressive  governor,  Liu  Ming  Chuan.  About 
one  hundred  and  fifty  rickshaws  run  on  these  roads  every  day. 
An  effort  was  made  to  establish  a  line  of  English  carriages,  but 
had  to  be  abandoned  because  the  horses  could  not  compete 
with  the  coolies. 

A  line  of  railway  runs  between  Kelung  and  Tek-chham,  about 
fifty  miles.  The  engines  are  all  made  in  Germany  or  England, 
and  the  cars  are  fitted  up  in  English  style.  The  road  is  now 
owned  and  operated  entirely  by  Chinese. 

I  am  sometimes  asked  why  we  do  not  use  a  pony  or  donkey 
in  traveling.  I  tried  the  donkey  once,  and  am  not  enthusi- 
astic over  the  experiment.  There  were  no  stables  at  the  inns 
or  chapels,  and  no  provision  for  caring  for  the  animal.  And 
in  the  matter  of  time  nothing  was  gained,  as  a  coolie  had  to  be 
employed  to  carry  necessary  food  and  clothing,  and  the  time 
made  by  the  donkey  was  lost  by  the  coolie.  The  donkey  was 
a  present  from  the  commissioner  of  customs,  who  was  retiring 
from  the  island.  We  called  him  "  Lu-a,"  and  the  students  had 
considerable  sport  with  him  at  Tamsui.  One  day  we  planned 
a  trip  to  a  chapel  five  miles  away.  Lu-a  was  brought  to  the 
door  for  my  use,  and  as  it  was  a  great  occasion  I  mounted 
and  led  the  way.  The  students  followed,  greatly  enjoying  the 
sight  of  a  foreign  missionary  astride  a  donkey.  All  went  well, 
however,  until  we  came  to  a  narrow  plank  bridge  crossing  a 


TOURING   IN    THE  NORTH  1 75 

ravine  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  deep.  The  bridge  was  not  more 
than  three  feet  wide,  and  when  Ln-a  came  he  halted  suddenly, 
planted  his  fore  feet  well  forward,  and  set  his  ears  back  in  a 
settled  sort  of  way.  Coaxing  and  urging  both  failed.  I  then 
dismounted  and  began  to  pull.  The  students  took  in  the  situa- 
tion and  thought  to  assist  by  pushing,  one  of  them  taking  hold 
of  Lu-a's  rat-tail.  But  it  was  all  in  vain.  Lu-a  was  "estab- 
lished." A  consultation  was  then  held  and  various  plans  dis- 
cussed. Thinking  that  the  donkey  might  have  changed  his 
opinion,  I  made  another  effort,  and  seizing  the  halter,  began  to 
pull  with  all  my  might.  But  he  braced  himself  all  the  more 
firmly  with  his  fore  feet,  and  then  began  to  kick.  This  had  the 
effect  of  scattering  the  students  in  the  rear,  but  I  kept  pulling 
in  front.  Lu-a  then  opened  his  mouth  and  brayed,  making 
sounds  such  as  the  students  never  heard  before,  and  as  only  a 
sulky  donkey  can  make.  The  whole  performance  was  so  novel, 
and  the  donkey's  heels  went  with  such  rapidity,  that  the  stu- 
dents, shouting  "Cheng-bi,  cheng-bi!"  ("He's  pounding  rice, 
he's  pounding  rice!"),  lay  down  on  the  ground  and  laughed 
themselves  nearly  sick.  But  Lu-a  conquered ;  and  what  made 
our  defeat  all  the  more  humiliating  was  that  one  of  us  could 
almost  have  carried  him  across,  he  was  so  small,  and  that  we 
lost  an  hour  and  a  half  of  valuable  time  in  the  contest.  Since 
then  I  have  not  experimented  in  this  kind  of  locomotion. 

Our  experiences  in  traveling  are  never  monotonous,  as  there 
is  always  change  and  incident  enough  to  give  interest ;  but  to 
readers  of  the  record  one  trip  would  appear  much  like  another. 
Sometimes  we  take  the  chapels  along  the  much-traveled  pub- 
lic road,  at  other  times  the  scattered  savage  villages,  and  at 
others  the  less  frequented  paths  inland  from  the  sea,  where  the 
Chinese  pioneers  are  subduing  nature's  wildness  and  opening 
the  way  for  the  advancing  settlements.  In  1890  we  traversed 
the  entire  length  of  the  field  from  north  to  south  without  once 
approaching  the  public  road.    The  narrow  paths  along  which 


I76  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

we  went  skirted  and  climbed  the  rugged  mountains  and  wound 
through  scenery  of  extraordinary  beauty.  The  Chinese  gen- 
erally have  but  feeble  sense  of  the  sublime,  and  it  was  gratify- 
ing to  observe  the  Chinese  students  gazing  with  wonder  and 
admiration  upon  the  picturesque  scenery  through  which  we 
passed.  The  truth  of  God  had  opened  their  eyes  and  touched 
to  life  their  dormant  senses. 

We  were  accompanied  on  that  occasion  by  a  hillman,  sev- 
enty-four years  of  age,  who  was  my  traveling-companion.  He 
had  nerves  of  steel  and  muscles  of  iron,  and  it  was  a  pleasure 
to  walk  with  one  who  had  such  powers  of  endurance.  The 
others  of  our  party  were  often  far  in  the  rear,  and  we  had  to 
sound  an  occasional  hallo  for  their  encouragement  and  gui- 
dance. After  traveling  a  long  distance  in  this  way  my  com- 
panion began  to  show  signs  of  fatigue,  and  at  last,  when  we 
came  to  a  large  flat  stone  at  the  top  of  a  particularly  difficult 
piece  of  climbing,  he  sat  down,  perspiring  and  puffing,  and  said 
in  a  beseeching  tone,  "  We  move  too  fast." 

As  we  walked  along,  this  hillman  spoke  a  great  deal  about 
the  folly  of  idolatry,  and  offered  me  his  god  of  the  north  pole, 
god  of  the  kitchen,  and  god  of  war,  before  which  he  had  been 
bowing  himself  for  seventy  long  years.  This  offer  was  made 
good,  and  on  our  return  we  carried  them  with  us  as  a  contri- 
bution to  my  museum  at  Tamsui. 

On  the  arrival  of  our  party  we  set  out  again,  all  moving  to- 
gether. Our  guide  knew  the  way,  and  taking  the  lead,  he 
rushed  on  ahead  to  a  village  near  by  to  advise  a  school-teacher 
of  our  coining.  We  were  welcomed  at  the  school-room  by  the 
teacher,  a  particularly  fine  literary  gentleman.  Looking  about 
the  room,  I  was  a  little  surprised  to  find  on  his  table  a  copy 
of  the  Old  Testament,  a  hymn-book,  and  a  New  Testament 
Catechism.  He  caught  my  glance,  and  laying  his  hand  on 
the  Bible,  said,  "  Here  I  find  what  I  longed  to  know.  This 
Book  tells  me  how  this  world  was  made."    And  he  went  on  to 


TOURING   IN    THE   NORTH  177 

speak  of  the  delight  and  profit  he  found  in  studying  the  story 
of  creation.  The  native  preacher,  himself  one  of  the  literary 
class,  had  given  this  teacher  the  Book,  and  as  it  was  the  open- 
ing chapters  of  Genesis  that  first  arrested  his  own  attention,  he 
directed  the  mind  of  his  inquiring  friend  to  the  same  portion. 
The  teacher  became  interested,  and  soon  the  new  light  began 
to  dawn.  There  was  a  chapel  not  far  from  the  school,  and  on 
the  night  we  held  service  there  he  was  present.  During  my 
address  he  would  give  expression  to  his  consent  and  approval 
in  emphatic  exclamations,  like  the  "  Amen  "  of  an  old-time 
camp-meeting.  At  the  close  he  rose  and  addressed  the  assem- 
bly :  "lam  sixty-four  years  of  age,  and  have  taught  school  for 
twenty-three  years.  I  heard  the  gospel  from  the  lips  of  the 
native  preacher  who  is  here  to-night.  He  came  to  my  school- 
room more  than  ten  times.  I  believe  this  new  doctrine  with 
all  my  heart.  It  is  good.  I  was  a  Confucianist,  but  Confu- 
cianism did  not  satisfy  my  soul.  I  read  in  the  Bible  how  God 
created  the  heaven  and  the  earth.  I  read,  too,  of  eternal  life 
after  death.  These  things  impressed  me  deeply.  I  kept  pon- 
dering on  them  even  in  my  school.  Then  an  old  friend  came 
and  brought  Kai  Bok-su,  the  foreign  missionary.  My  old  friend 
I  found  to  be  a  Christian,  and  though  he  is  over  seventy  years 
of  age  he  is  young  again.  He  has  fellowship  with  God.  I 
have  come  now  to  understand.  For  many  years  I  have  not 
believed  in  idols.  Now  I  am  satisfied,  and  before  all  here  I 
declare  myself  a  believer  in  God  and  in  Jesus.  The  gospel 
is  good  news  to  an  old  man  like  me."  There  was  profound 
silence  all  the  time,  for  this  old  disciple  of  Confucius  was  re- 
spected by  all.  His  words  were  earnest,  for  in  them  was  the 
reviving  hope  of  an  old  man's  life. 

At  Toa-kho-ham,  a  town  near  the  mountains,  we  saw  twenty- 
four  savages  imprisoned  and  condemned  to  punishment  for  the 
death  of  several  Chinese  camphor-workers  in  the  border-land, 
whose  heads  were  taken  by  the  head-hunters  of  the  tribe.    The 


178  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

prisoners  were  secured  with  chains  about  their  legs.  Their 
tattooed  women  strolled  about,  unfettered  and  unconcerned, 
as  if  careless  about  the  fate  of  their  braves.  But  there  was 
sympathy  in  their  hearts,  and  although  they  loved  the  freedom 
of  their  forest  retreats,  that  "touch  of  nature,"  love  for  their 
husbands  and  sons,  bound  them  by  invisible  cords  to  the  place 
of  their  imprisonment. 

Our  next  night  was  spent  at  a  village  of  Hak-ka  Chinese, 
where  we  had  to  defend  ourselves  against  the  lances  of  the 
most  blood-thirsty  mosquitoes  I  ever  encountered.  They  were 
regular  warriors,  and  a  smudge  of  weeds  was  but  poor  protec- 
tion. Foreigners  in  Formosa  invariably  carry  mosquito-cur- 
tains, but  touring  through  inland  settlements  must  be  done 
without  such  luxuries. 

At  a  chapel  among  the  hillmen  we  were  given  a  reception 
that,  whatever  might  be  said  of  its  style,  lacked  nothing  in  the 
matter  of  heartiness.  Guns  and  fire-crackers  sounded  out 
their  glad  welcome.  A  sumptuous  feast  of  fowl  and  fish  was 
prepared  at  the  chapel,  and  the  building  was  filled  the  entire 
day.  Three  hours  were  spent  in  listening  to  their  recitations 
of  psalms,  hymns,  and  Bible  selections,  some  in  the  Hak-ka 
dialect  and  others  in  the  Hok-lo.  Away  yonder  among  the 
rugged  hills  a  beacon-light  is  glowing,  and  those  weary  pio- 
neers are  finding  their  way  back  to  God. 

On  our  way  toward  the  sea  the  first  man  to  greet  us  was 
one  who  had  been  blind,  but  whose  sight  was  restored.  He 
had  been  treated  some  time  previously,  but  when  he  caught 
sight  of  me  that  day,  he  rushed  up,  his  eyes  wide  open,  and 
exclaimed,  "  God  did  it ;  God  did  it  !  I  can  see  now.  God 
did  it  without  medicine."  Advocates  of  faith-cure  might  add 
this  man  to  their  number  and  regard  his  case  as  an  unanswer- 
able argument.  There  was  faith  and  prayer,  but  there  was 
work  as  well.  The  man  had  been  suffering  from  anemia  and 
granular  ophthalmia.     The  treatment  prescribed  was  for  the 


TOURING  IN   THE  NORTH  179 

toning  up  of  his  system,  and  a  wash  was  prepared  for  his  eyes. 
Reckless  living  was  strictly  forbidden  and  hygienic  regulations 
enforced.  Under  the  care  of  the  native  preacher  he  had 
made  slow  but  sure  progress,  until  his  health  was  restored  and 
his  sight  became  clearer.  When  the  supply  of  medicine  was 
exhausted  he  no  doubt  prayed  more  earnestly  and  lived  more 
consistently,  and  he  thought  that  as  his  eyesight  was  restored 
when  he  was  not  taking  drugs,  his  cure  was  exceptional  and 
miraculous.  "  God  did  it,"  was  his  testimony,  which,  indeed, 
was  true ;  but  means  were  suited  to  ends,  as  must  always  be 
done  if  we  would  be  blessed  of  God. 

On  returning  from  an  inland  tour  we  sought  refuge  for  the 
night  at  Lam-kham,  a  day's  journey  southwest  from  Tamsui. 
There  was  no  public  inn,  and  no  one  would  give  us  lodgings. 
We  found  a  deserted  cart-shed,  in  which  we  took  shelter.  A 
young  man  who  was  baptized  at  our  first  country  station  lived 
in  that  neighborhood,  and  when  he  found  us  out  escorted  us 
to  his  home.  One  evening  a  place  was  prepared  and  arrange- 
ments made  for  a  service.  I  preached  the  gospel  to  the  peo- 
ple, and  set  on  the  table  eight  idols  which  had  been  surren- 
dered by  their  devotees.  There  is  at  Lam-kham  a  gnarled 
banian-tree  twenty-five  feet  in  circumference,  said  to  have 
been  planted  by  Koxinga.  It  is  supposed  to  have  in  it  the 
spirit  of  one  of  Koxinga's  followers,  and  is  reverenced,  if  not 
worshiped,  by  many  of  the  people. 

On  my  next  visit  to  that  place  a  man  fifty-eight  years  of  age 
came  up  and  expressed  great  interest  in  us  and  our  work.  He 
followed  us  to  Tamsui  for  the  express  purpose  of  overcoming 
the  opium  habit,  which  was  fast  ruining  him.  The  pipe  was 
placed  in  my  museum,  and  then  the  struggle  began.  It  was 
terrible  beyond  description.  Those  who  have  never  experi- 
enced it  cannot  understand  the  power  of  the  habit.  When  the 
craving  came  on,  his  body  writhed  in  agony.  Remedial  mea- 
sures were  adopted,  and  by  Christian  fellowship  and  divine 


i  So  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

grace  he  held  on,  going  from  strength  to  strength,  until  the  vic- 
tory was  won.  He  told  me  that  it  was  he  who,  as  head  man 
of  the  village,  led  the  people  of  Lam-kham  in  their  opposition 
to  us  and  in  refusing  us  shelter.  He  spoke  afterward  at  many 
of  our  large  gatherings,  and  always  made  three  points  promi- 
nent :  first,  that  he  had  been  an  opium-smoker  and  had  been 
cured;  second,  that  he  had  resisted  our  entrance  and  vilified 
us  at  Lam-kham ;  third,  that  he  was  now  a  follower  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  by  his  grace  feared  neither  men  nor  devils.  He 
went  back  to  his  home  and  led  his  friends  in  constructing  a 
thatched  building  for  chapel  purposes.  After  this  building- 
was  destroyed  by  a  typhoon  a  substantial  and  comfortable  hall, 
roofed  with  tiles,  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty-six  Mexican  dollars,  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  of  which 
were  given  by  the  poor  peasants  themselves.  Two  poor  old 
women,  who  walked  four  miles  every  Sabbath  to  attend  the 
services,  brought  two  fowls  each  as  an  offering.  These  were 
sold,  and  with  the  price  five  hundred  tiles  were  purchased  for 
the  new  chapel. 

Looking  over  my  journals,  I  find  the  record  of  many  trips 
made  in  all  directions.  There  are  many  brief  entries  of  ser- 
vices held,  churches  opened,  and  sacraments  dispensed.  There 
is  mention  of  interesting  cases  and  encouraging  experiences. 
The  fidelity  and  affection  of  my  students  are  recalled  by  inci- 
dents recorded.  The  journal  of  one  trip  of  forty-six  days, 
made  with  the  Rev.  Tan  He,  in  the  autumn  of  1888,  is  crowded 
with  interest.  There  were  hardships,  exposure,  perils,  and  dis- 
appointment ;  but  a  glance  at  the  record  recalls  not  these  things. 
To  a  stranger  all  would  be  meaningless,  but  to  me  the  very 
names  of  the  places  awaken  pleasant  memories.  There  were 
Lun-a-teng,  Toa-tiu-tia,  Tho-a-hng,  Ang-mng-kang,  Au-lang, 
Lai-sia,  Tiong-kang,  and  Tek-chham.  As  I  write  these  names 
there  rises  before  my  inner  vision  picture  after  picture  of  eager 
congregations  assembled  in  pleasant  chapels,  singing  praise  to 


,'■ 


I 


Dr.  MacKay  and  Students  Descending  a  Mountain. 


TOURING   IN    THE   NORTH  1S1 

fehovah-Godj  of  whom  until  a  few  years  ago  they  had  never 
heard,  listening  with  appreciative  attention  to  the  gospel  mes- 
sage, sitting  down  together  at  the  holy  table  and  commemo- 
rating the  dying  love  of  the  Man  of  Calvary,  and  coming  with 
their  little  children,  in  response  to  Christ's  gracious  invitation, 
and  covenanting  in  the  ordinance  of  baptism  to  bring  up  their 
children  "in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord";  and 
then  their  heart-felt  good-bys  as  we  left  them  one  by  one,  to 
preach  the  gospel  and  establish  the  church  of  Christ  at  other 
stations.  It  is  easy  to  name  over  the  chapels  and  to  reckon 
up  the  statistics ;  and  for  all  these  marvelous  tokens  of  God's 
blessing  we  are  humbled  into  gratitude.  But  the  real  story  can- 
not thus  be  told.  It  is  not  written  in  the  records  of  ink,  but 
in  hearts  that  have  learned  to  love  the  Saviour — hundreds  of 
them  now  before  him  in  the  glory,  hundreds  more  loyally  serv- 
ing him  in  the  church  upon  earth.  They  are  our  epistles,  and 
in  their  hearts  and  lives  is  written  the  record  of  our  tours  in 
North  Formosa. 


CHAPTER    XIX 


THE     WAITING     ISLES 


The  prophecy  of  the  isles— Visiting  Steep  Island— On  Pinnacle  Island- 
Sea-birds'  island  home — Agincourt  Island — An  old  fort — Present- 
day   inhabitants— A    tragedy — Adrift— Our    last    visit— Agincourt's 


voice 


THE  isles  shall  wait  for  His  law!  That  Old  Testament 
prophecy  has  been  an  inspiration  in  my  life.  I  have  seen 
it  fulfilled  in  Formosa.  It  has  been  fulfilled  in  the  archipelago 
of  the  South  Sea.  The  islands  of  the  frozen  north  will  yet 
sound  his  praises.  It  is  not  a  poetic  fancy.  It  is  not  a  base- 
less dream.  He  has  spoken  it  whose  words  are  sure.  When 
the  continents  shall  have  turned  unto  the  Lord,  and  when  their 
kings  shall  have  come  to  the  brightness  of  his  kingdom,  surely 
the  waiting  isles  shall  "fly  as  a  cloud,  and  as  doves  to  their 
windows." 

When  Formosa  had  heard  the  gospel  our  eyes  began  to  look 
longingly  east  and  north  toward  the  lonely  little  islands  beyond 
the  blue  horizon-line.  Off  the  northeast  coast  a  few  hours'  sail 
is  Steep  Island.  We  talked  much  about  it  because  A  Hoa's 
mother  was  born  there,  and  because  upward  of  three  hundred 
Chinese  dwelt  there,  many  of  whom  had  never  heard  the  gos- 
pel. Passage  for  myself  and  several  of  the  students  on  board 
a  junk  loaded  with  planks  was  engaged  from  Tamsui.  We  set 
out,  but  the  winds  were  contrary,  and  after  two  days  of  tossing 
and  seasickness  we  rounded  the  northern  point  of  Formosa 

182 


THE  WAITING  ISLES  183 

and  ran  into  Kim-pau-li,  on  the  northeast.  Here  we  got  water 
and  food,  for  our  supply  was  well-nigh  exhausted.  Setting  sail 
again,  we  were  driven  far  out  of  our  course,  first  eastward  and 
then  to  the  north.  For  five  days  and  nights  we  were  carried 
hither  and  thither  by  the  merciless  waves.  On  the  fifth  day, 
scarcely  knowing  where  we  were,  having  been  driven  back  over 
our  track,  we  sighted  land.  What  was  our  delight  when  we 
found  that  we  were  on  the  lee  side  of  Steep  Island,  and  right 
grateful  were  we  for  the  welcome  of  the  islanders. 

The  Chinese  call  Steep  Island  Ku-soa  ("  Turtle  Mountain  "), 
and  from  certain  points  of  view  the  island  does  resemble  a  huge 
turtle  standing  on  guard  with  head  erect.  One  side  is  almost 
perpendicular,  fully  twelve  hundred  feet  high.  The  rock  for- 
mation is  a  laminated  kind  of  slate,  argillaceous  sandstone, 
and  igneous  rocks.  On  sailing  around  the  island  we  noticed 
sulphur  steam  ascending  its  sides,  and  near  the  sea-line  were 
whitish  cinders  and  hot  water.  The  whole  is  evidently  an  ooz- 
ing, seething  mass  of  sulphur. 

The  inhabitants  are  nearly  all  fishermen.  They  grow  on  the 
island  sweet  potatoes,  Indian  corn,  and  several  kinds  of  vege- 
tables. There  is  only  one  village,  and  on  the  occasion  of  our 
visit  the  people  were  suffering  from  the  effects  of  a  fire  which 
left  forty  families  homeless.  Near  the  village  there  is  a  natural 
pond,  with  no  visible  outlet,  but  having  some  underground  com- 
munication with  the  sea.  At  low  tide  the  water  is  fresh,  but 
at  high  tide  it  is  brackish.  During  certain  seasons  hundreds  of 
wild  ducks  make  this  pond  their  rendezvous.  The  only  spring 
of  fresh  water  sends  a  stream  trickling  down  an  irregular  ledge 
into  the  pond.  Near  it  stands  a  solitary  ebony-tree,  the  last, 
no  doubt,  of  a  numerous  family. 

The  poor  people  were  very  hearty  in  their  welcome,  and 
gave  us  the  best  of  what  little  they  had.  They  brought  their 
sick  and  suffering,  and  we  sought  to  give  them  relief.  With 
glad  hearts  they  listened  to  the  gospel  message,  and  their  des- 


1S4  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

titution  gave  point  and  pathos  to  their  pleading  for  a  native 
preacher.  When  we  left  them  the  whole  village  accompanied 
us  to  the  shore,  and  with  many  words  of  gratitude,  and  begging 
us  to  return,  they  watched  us  sail  out  of  their  life  again.  Five 
hours  in  an  open  boat  rowed  by  a  crew  of  their  stalwart  fish- 
ermen against  a  heavy  sea,  and  we  were  landed  on  the  shore 
of  Formosa  opposite  Steep  Island,  and  near  to  one  of  our 
chapels,  where  we  found  rest  and  food. 

Away  to  the  northeast  of  Formosa,  more  than  a  hundred 
miles  from  Kelung,  are  three  islands,  called  Pinnacle,  Craig, 
and  Agincourt.  The  Chinese  names,  Flower-pot,  Bird,  and 
Large,  are  descriptive  and  singularly  appropriate.  These 
islands  belong  to  Formosa,  but  are  self-governing  and  practi- 
cally independent. 

Pinnacle  Island  is  an  irregular  bare  rock,  upon  which  noth- 
ing grows  and  where  no  land  animal  could  live.  It  stands  one 
hundred  and  seventy  feet  out  of  the  water,  and  serves  only  as 
a  resting-place  for  sea-birds  wearied  with  their  long  flight. 

Craig  is  also  unfit  for  man's  abode,  but  was  surely  heaved 
up  to  be  the  home  of  the  seafaring  birds  that  gather  there  in 
flocks  that  at  times  literally  darken  the  sky.  On  one  side  the 
island  is  a  rugged  and  perpendicular  wall  of  rock  two  hundred 
feet  high.  From  that  side  it  slopes  down  to  the  water's  edge, 
forming  a  surface  of  two  or  three  acres,  which  is  smooth,  with- 
out trees  or  shrubs,  but  completely  covered  writh  soft  grass,  in 
which  the  birds  lay  their  eggs  without  making  any  kind  of  nest. 
I  discovered  twelve  different  kinds  of  grasses,  but  no  flowers. 
Insects,  including  the  dreaded  centipede  and  several  species 
of  beetle,  abounded.  But  the  characteristic  of  the  island  is  its 
bird-life.  Gulls  and  terns  gather  there  in  millions.  As  they 
return  homeward  they  hover  over  the  island  for  a  little,  and 
then  settle  down  like  a  wide-spreading  mantle  of  wings.  The 
whole  sloping  surface  is  covered,  and  the  sight  is  worth  the 
voyage  to  see.     But  the  cruelty  of  man  destroyed  for  us  the 


THE  WAITING   ISLES  185 

beauty  of  the  scene.  On  one  occasion  while  we  camped  there 
a  dozen  or  a  score  of  men  came  from  Agincourt  to  gather  the 
eggs,  and  their  large  baskets  were  soon  filled.  When  the  birds 
came  home  in  the  evening  and  settled  down  in  the  grass,  the 
men,  carrying  lighted  torches,  caught  them  alive  and  crammed 
them  into  large  sacks.  They  were  then  taken  to  a  large  stone 
near  which  a  fire  was  kindled,  and  there,  one  by  one,  they  were 
dashed  to  death  and  piled  in  heaps  several  feet  high.  The 
sight  and  the  wailing  screams  of  the  poor  birds  were  sickening. 
In  the  morning  they  were  dressed,  salted,  and  dried.  After  se- 
curing the  birds  the  men  hooked  turtles  of  immense  size.  Our 
crew  made  purchases,  and  on  our  return  trip  we  were  surrounded 
by  birds  living  and  dead,  eggs  sound  and  unsound,  whole  and 
broken,  and  in  one  corner  a  huge  turtle  five  feet  long  lay  on  its 
back,  groaning  all  night  like  a  human  being.     What  a  night  ! 

Agincourt  is  much  larger  than  Pinnacle  or  Craig,  and  stands 
out  of  the  water  five  hundred  and  forty  feet.  It  contains  per- 
haps ten  acres,  and  is  the  home  of  more  than  a  hundred  Chi- 
nese, who  came  originally  from  Kelung,  Formosa.  They  live  in 
low  stone  huts  on  one  side  of  the  island,  and  about  their  huts 
are  trees,  shrubs,  grass,  and  flowers.  Maize  is  cultivated  and 
eaten  in  every  form,  but  generally  pounded  in  a  mortar  and 
made  into  porridge.  Millet,  pumpkins,  cucumbers,  and  beans 
are  grown,  which,  with  their  salted  birds  and  shell-fish,  consti- 
tute their  food.  Unlike  the  Chinese  elsewhere,  they  care  little 
for  rice.  Skipping  from  hillock  to  hillock  I  saw  flocks  of 
goats,  but  no  other  animals  were  seen. 

On  a  high  place  above  the  huts  I  came  upon  an  old  fort 
like  the  Pictish  remains  seen  in  Sutherlandshire,  Scotland.  It 
looked  to  be  very  ancient,  but  who  were  its  builders  and  what 
its  purpose  remained  a  mystery.  The  oldest  inhabitant,  a  man 
past  fourscore,  could  give  no  account  of  it.  One  wondered  if 
it  belonged  to  the  Dutch  regime,  and  if,  when  they  fortified 
Palm  Island,  at  the  mouth  of  the   Kelung  harbor,  they  also 


1 86  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

planted  their  guns  here.  Or  were  mutineers  from  some  pass- 
ing vessel  left  ashore  on  this  lonely  isle?  Or  is  it  the  work 
of  some  shipwrecked  crew,  some  Robinson  Crusoe  or  veritable 
Enoch  Arden?  Nothing  is  left  to  tell  the  tale.  Certain  it  is, 
however,  that  anxious  hands  in  the  far-gone  past  put  stone  upon 
stone,  and  there  they  stand,  marking  the  place  where,  perhaps 
centuries  ago,  their  builders  sat,  waiting  wearily  for  the  sail 
that  never  came,  listening  nightly  to 

"  The  myriad  shriek  of  wheeling  ocean-fowl, 
The  league-long  roller  thundering  on  the  reef." 

The  present-day  inhabitants  of  Agincourt  we  found  to  be 
bright  and  kindly  in  their  disposition.  On  our  first  visit,  in 
1879,  our  party  was  made  up  of  myself  and  wife,  a  friend  from 
Scotland,  and  several  students.  When  the  people  sighted  us 
they  watched  us  from  the  rocks  along  the  shore  until  we  were 
within  speaking  distance,  when  they  warned  us  not  to  try  to 
land,  as  the  shore  was  dangerous.  One  of  their  men  plunged 
into  the  water  and  swam  out  to  our  junk,  having  fastened  round 
his  waist  a  rope,  the  other  end  of  which  was  secured  to  a  rock. 
When  he  was  taken  on  board  and  the  rope  fastened  to  our 
junk,  we  were  hauled  to  shore.  The  ledge  was  very  rugged, 
and  as  the  waves  carried  the  junk  near  enough,  each  one  had 
to  be  ready  and  jump  to  shore,  there  to  be  caught  by  our  new- 
found friends.  It  was  a  perilous  landing,  and  were  it  not  for 
the  strength  and  bravery  of  those  fishermen  one  of  our  num- 
ber would  not  have  returned.  Our  stay  was  made  pleasant  by 
the  unfailing  kindness  of  the  people,  who,  though  poor  and 
ignorant,  received  us  graciously,  and  listened  with  interest  to 
the  gospel  we  preached. 

A  few  years  ago  an  American  sailing-vessel  was  becalmed 
near  Agincourt,  and  the  captain's  son  and  a  traveling-com- 
panion rowed  to  shore  in  search  of  game.  Before  their  return 
a  gale  arose,  and  the  ship  was  driven  before  the  storm  until  it 


THE   IV A  IT  IN  G   ISLES  1S7 

found  shelter  in  Kelung  harbor.  The  captain  reported  the 
catastrophe,  and  a  steamer  was  sent  in  search  of  the  missing 
men,  but  no  trace  of  them  was  ever  found.  The  islanders  may 
have  been  blamed,  but  I  am  confident  that  in  their  hands  the 
young  men  would  have  been  kindly  treated.  It  was  not  the 
poor  islanders  that  did  the  deed,  but  the  merciless,  hungry  sea. 

I  set  out  a  third  time  to  visit  Agincourt.  This  time  our 
junk  was  a  small  coal-boat  that  had  been  cleaned  and  ballasted 
with  sand.  With  a  good  supply  of  food  and  fresh  water,  wre 
set  sail  at  dark.  Our  course  lay  in  a  northerly  direction,  but 
when  morning  dawned  we  were  far  down  the  east  coast  of  For- 
mosa, opposite  So  Bay.  Putting  about,  we  had  to  fight  our 
way  back  against  wind  and  wave.  We  were  carried  eastward 
until  land  was  out  of  sight  and  night  came  down.  Dense 
fogs  had  settled  on  the  Formosa  hills,  and  the  crew  were  ter- 
rified and  almost  helpless.  There  was  no  compass  on  board 
except  a  small  one  attached  to  my  watch-guard.  The  helms- 
man had  completely  lost  his  bearings,  and  our  boat  began  to 
drift.  The  seamen  were  horror-stricken,  but  the  students  were 
calm  and  undismayed.  In  such  circumstances  nothing  but  a 
real  trust  in  the  living  God  can  stand  the  stress  and  strain. 
Meanwhile  I  watched  the  scudding  clouds,  on  the  lookout  for 
the  beacon-lights  of  heaven.  At  last  there  was  a  rift  and  the 
glorious  stars  were  seen,  steady  and  true  as  of  old.  The 
helmsman  was  changed,  the  boat's  course  altered,  and  next 
day  we  sailed  into  Kelung  harbor  and  found  shelter  at  the 
mission-house  there. 

Our  boat  was  repaired,  a  new  crew  secured,  and  we  put  out 
again.  This  trip  winds  and  waves  were  favorable,  and  in  due 
time  the  three  islands  were  sighted.  Craig  was  passed  and  we 
steered  for  Agincourt.  The  people  went  wild  with  joy,  and 
not  in  vain  did  we  tell  "  the  old,  old  story."  Their  lot  is  hard, 
like  life  in  St.  Kilda,  and  their  island  is  one  of  "  the  loneliest  in 
a  lonely  sea"  ;  but  the  gospel  is  for  them,  and  the  word  spoken 


1 88  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

on  those  journeys  will  not  return  void.  For  He  said,  "  Surely 
the  isles  shall  wait  for  me;"  and  the  voice  of  storm-swept  Agin- 
court  will  be  heard  when 

"  'Midst  the  streams  of  distant  lands 
The  islands  sound  his  praise ; 
And,  all  combined,  with  one  accord 
Jehovah's  glories  raise." 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  FRENCH 

Threatenings — The  first  shot — Hostilities — The  Black  Flags — The  mis- 
sionary's epitaph — Persecutions  in  Sin-tiam — At  Kelung — My  val- 
uables—A perilous  hour — Astride  a  shell — Collapsed — Shut  out — A 
narrow  escape — A  prisoner  of  war — The  French  leaving — "  The  mis- 
sion wiped  out" — Indemnity — New  churches— Feng-shuy — "Nee 
tamen  consumebatur  " 

IN  18S4  a  black  cloud  began  to  shape  itself  on  our  hori- 
zon, and  soon  the  heavens  were  overcast  and  threatening. 
Those  were  days  of  darkness  in  North  Formosa.  China  had 
become  involved  in  a  dispute  with  France  about  a  boundary- 
line  in  Tonquin.  It  was  not  settled  satisfactorily,  and  France, 
without  declaring  war,  sent  a  fleet  to  the  China  Sea  and  bom- 
barded the  forts  at  Foo-chow  and  other  places.  As  Formosa 
was  under  the  jurisdiction  of  China  it  became  one  of  the  cen- 
ters of  attack,  as  was  the  case  more  recently  in  the  war  with 
Japan.  In  the  summer  of  1884  several  French  war-ships  ap- 
peared, and  very  soon  the  news  spread  throughout  North  For- 
mosa that  the  French  were  coming.  The  people  were  both 
alarmed  and  enraged.  Their  animosity  was  aroused  against 
all  foreigners  and  those  associated  with  them.  The  missionary 
was  at  once  suspected,  and  the  native  Christians  were  accused 
of  being  in  league  with  France.  Torture  and  death  were 
threatened  against  all  our  converts.  Chinese  soldiers  ground 
their  long  knives  in  the  presence  of  the  Christians,  and  some- 
times caught  the  children,  brandished  their  sharpened  knives 

189 


190  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

over  their  beads,  and  swore  that  they  would  all  be  cut  to  pieces 
when  the  first  barbarian  shot  should  be  fired. 

Letters  from  preachers  and  converts  in  different  parts  of  the 
field  were  brought  to  me  at  Tamsui  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and 
night.  A  cloud  hung  over  our  entire  mission  work.  In  July 
I  was  on  Palm  Island,  at  the  mouth  of  Kelung  harbor,  teach- 
ing the  students  in  the  mission-house  there.  Chinese  soldiers 
paraded  in  front  of  the  building,  sometimes,  indeed,  strutting 
into  our  study-room,  jeering  and  vilifying  us  all  the  while,  and 
threatening  to  kill  us  all  on  the  spot  should  the  French,  then 
in  the  harbor,  take  action.  One  day  a  movement  was  seen 
among  the  French  fleet.  One  large  man-of-war  weighed 
anchor  and  took  position  near  the  Chinese  fort.  The  guns 
were  directed  and  ready.  The  Chinese  in  the  fort  were  in 
readiness  for  attack  and  would  have  answered  the  first  charge. 
We  watched  every  movement,  awaiting  anxiously  the  opening 
shot.     But  all  remained  quiet  that  day. 

Shortly  afterward  a  letter  came  from  a  native  preacher  re- 
questing me  to  visit  a  Christian  family,  ten  miles  from  Kelung, 
where  there  was  sickness.  We  left  Palm  Island  on  this  errand, 
but  our  departure  was  none  too  soon,  for  on  August  5th  five 
French  war- ships  bombarded  and  destroyed  the  Chinese  fort. 
Four  days  after  the  bombardment,  in  company  with  an  Eng- 
lishman, I  went  around  the  coast  in  a  steamship,  and  was  al- 
lowed to  go  on  shore  to  examine  the  smoking  fortifications. 
Soldiers  were  lying  on  their  faces,  with  bodies  shattered.  Evi- 
dently they  had  been  fleeing  when  exploded  shells  ended  their 
lives.  These  shells  were  sent  with  such  terrific  force  as  to  cut 
off  branches  of  a  tree  that  were  half  a  foot  in  diameter.  A 
magazine  that  had  exploded  hurled  masses  of  concrete  to  an 
incredible  distance.  The  Englishman  and  myself,  with  one  of 
my  students,  were  invited  on  board  the  flag-ship  "  La  Galis- 
sonair  "  and  taken  through  every  part  of  the  vessel.  When  we 
went  down  below  our  attention  was  directed  to  three  holes, 


THE  COMING   OF  THE  FRENCH  191 

nearly  a  foot  in  diameter,  just  above  the  surface  of  the  water, 
made  by  shells  from  the  Chinese  fort.  The  vice-admiral 
spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  gunners  who  aimed  so  truly. 
Though  he  was  a  man  of  war,  this  officer  was  also  a  man  of 
sympathy ;  for  when  my  student  looked  afraid  as  the  soldiers 
under  drill  and  their  officers  dashed  to  and  fro  with  swords 
dangling  at  their  sides,  he  said,  "  Poor  fellow !  Tell  him  not 
to  be  afraid ;  we  have  no  pleasure  in  killing  people." 

Now  that  the  first  shot  had  been  fired  and  hostilities  really 
begun,  the  joy  of  the  ever-enlarging  mobs  of  looters  knew  no 
bounds.  They  had  nothing  to  lose  in  the  war,  but  everything 
to  gain.  It  was  a  rare  opportunity  for  plunder  and  vengeance. 
They  hoisted  and  carried  black  flags,  butchered  swine,  drank 
sam-shu  (liquor),  and  earned  on  their  work  quite  methodically. 
It  seemed  as  if  there  would  be  wholesale  bloodshed.  The 
Christians  were  their  first  and  special  object  of  attack.  Seven 
of  the  best  of  our  churches  were  utterly  destroyed,  and  others 
were  greatly  impaired.  At  Toa-liong-pong,  near  the  home  of 
Koa  Kau,  the  mob  tore  down  the  chapel,  and,  having  made 
on  the  site  a  huge  mound,  they  erected  beside  it,  out  of  the 
bricks  of  the  ruined  chapel,  a  pile  eight  feet  high,  and,  after 
plastering  it  over  with  black  mud,  they  inscribed  on  the  side 
facing  the  road,  in  large  Chinese  characters,  the  epitaph : 
"  MacKay,  the  black-bearded  devil,  lies  here.  His  work  is 
ended." 

At  Sin-tiam  the  mob  entered  the  chapel,  took  the  communion- 
roll,  which  was  in  the  drawer  of  the  desk  on  the  platform,  and 
beginning  with  the  first  name,  they  marked  every  member  as  a 
victim.  The  name  of  the  first  having  been  announced,  forty 
or  fifty  were  despatched  to  set  fire  to  his  dwelling,  plunder  his 
property,  beat  his  family,  and  destroy  all  their  belongings.  So 
suddenly  was  the  attack  made  on  the  mission  buildings  that 
the  native  pastor's  wife  and  family  narrowly  escaped  with  their 
lives.    A  man  and  his  wife,  each  over  sixty  years  of  age,  were 


192  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

taken  to  the  water's  edge  in  front  of  the  church  and  given 
their  choice  between  denying  their  God  and  death  by  drown- 
ing. They  spurned  the  threat  and  would  not  recant.  Then 
they  were  taken  into  the  water  knee-deep  and  the  alternatives 
again  presented,  this  time  money  being  offered  if  they  would 
renounce  their  faith.  A  second  time  they  refused.  Then  in 
mad  rage  they  were  dragged  still  further  into  the  flowing  Sin- 
tiam,  and  a  third  chance  given,  to  be  a  third  time  refused. 
There  they  suffered,  martyrs  for  the  faith,  to  whom  death  was 
nothing  compared  with  dishonoring  their  Lord. 

Another  man,  belonging  to  the  same  church,  had  splits  of 
bamboo  placed  between  the  fingers,  and  these  then  tightly 
bound  with  cords.  He  was  entreated  to  return  to  the  religion 
of  his  fathers,  but  he  remained  steadfast.  The  cords  were 
pulled  tighter,  and  yet  more  tightly,  until  the  blood  oozed  out 
at  the  finger-tips.  Still  he  refused  to  surrender.  He  was  then 
knocked  senseless,  and  his  assailants  rushed  off,  in  answer  to 
the  call  of  hundreds  with  the  black  flag,  to  destroy  the  prop- 
erty and  torture  the  members  of  other  Christian  families.  He 
recovered  consciousness,  survived  the  injuries  received,  and 
became  more  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Christ  than  ever  before. 

The  brothers  of  one  man  closed  the  door  on  him  when  he 
was  flying  for  his  life,  because  he  was  a  Christian,  and  they 
tauntingly  asked  him,  "Where  is  your  God  now?  Why  can- 
not your  God  protect  you?  " 

Another  was  seized,  hoops  of  bamboo  bound  around  his 
head,  and  splits  of  wood  tied  around  his  legs,  until  he  swooned 
away.  Kicked  and  beaten,  he  was  left  for  dead ;  but  he  sur- 
vived, and  harsh  treatment  was  unavailing,  for  he  did  not  for- 
sake the  true  God. 

The  infuriated  persecutors  seized  a  young  man,  dragged 
him  to  a  tree,  and  then,  throwing  his  cue  over  a  branch,  they 
pulled  it  until  his  toes  could  scarcely  touch  the  ground.  Even 
this  atrocity  did  not  satisfy  their  malignant  rage,  for,  while 


THE   COMING   OF   THE  FRENCH  193 

spitting  upon  him  and  jeering  at  him,  they  sneered,  "This  is 
one  who  joined  the  barbarian's  church." 

An  elder  and  his  family  escaped  to  a  coal-mine  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  for  ten  days  they  continued  there,  going  out  at 
night  into  the  fields  in  search  of  potatoes  to  keep  themselves 
alive.  It  was  impossible  to  cook  food,  for  the  smoke  would 
have  betrayed  their  hiding-place.  Thirty-six  families  at  that 
once  prosperous  station  were  left  homeless,  houseless,  penniless. 

Three  years  afterward  the  Sin-tiam  Christians  sent  me  a  let- 
ter to  the  effect  that,  though  they  had  to  begin  life,  as  it  were, 
anew,  after  the  days  of  trial,  they  were  in  as  good  circumstances, 
and  some  of  them  in  even  better,  than  previously.  Thus  the 
true  and  loving  God  vindicates  his  own  cause.  Their  enemies 
perished  miserably ;  several  of  the  ringleaders  were  murdered 
by  the  savages,  others  died  of  fever,  and  others  were  imprisoned 
by  officials.  "  For  evil-doers  shall  be  cut  off :  but  those  that 
wait  upon  the  Lord,  they  shall  inherit  the  earth." 

At  Kelung  the  entire  town  was  deserted  by  the  Chinese. 
There  was  there  an  elderly  female  convert  who  owned  a  small 
house  and  some  property.  Wrapping  the  deed  in  a  handker- 
chief, she  placed  it  between  her  shoulders  under  her  gar- 
ments. Having  bound  feet,  she  could  only  hobble  along  with 
the  aid  of  a  staff,  but  still  she  hoped  to  evade  the  searching 
eyes  of  the  persecutors.  Unfortunately,  however,  they  caught 
her,  stripped  her  of  her  upper  garments,  found  the  deed,  took 
possession  of  it,  beat  her  with  the  sides  of  their  long  knives 
until  she  was  horribly  bruised  from  head  to  foot,  and  then  they 
let  her  go.  After  peace  was  restored  she  returned  to  Kelung, 
and  continued  one  of  the  most  zealous  followers  of  Jesus  at 
that  station. 

These  are  only  a  few  examples  of  the  trials  and  sufferings 
endured  by  Christians  in  North  Formosa  as  the  result  of  the 
French  attack. 

In  October  the  French  war-ships  were  in  position  before  the 


194  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

Tamsui  forts.  An  English  man-of-war  was  by  this  time  in  the 
harbor  to  protect  foreigners,  and  I  was  asked  to  go  on  board 
with  my  family  and  to  take  my  valuables  with  me.  I  told  the 
good  friends  that  my  valuables  were  in  and  around  the  col- 
lege, and  that  I  knew  they  could  not  go  on  board.  Valuables! 
The  men  who  were  my  children  in  the  Lord,  who  journeyed 
with  me,  ministering  to  me  in  sickness,  wading  streams,  scal- 
ing mountains,  facing  danger  by  sea  and  by  land,  never  once 
flinching  before  any  foe— they  were  my  valuables  !  "While 
they  were  on  shore  I  would  not  go  on  board.  If  they  were 
to  suffer  we  would  suffer  together. 

When  the  bombarding  began  we  put  our  little  children  under 
the  floor  of  the  house,  that  they  might  not  be  alarmed.  My 
wife  went  out  and  in  during  these  trying  hours.  I  paced  the 
front  of  the  house  with  A  Hoa,  while  shot  and  shell  whizzed 
and  burst  around  us.  One  shell  struck  a  part  of  Oxford  Col- 
lege, another  a  corner  of  the  Girls'  School,  and  still  another  a 
stone  in  front  of  us,  and  sent  it  into  mid-air  in  a  thousand  atoms. 
A  little  to  the  west  of  us  another  went  into  the  ground,  goug- 
ing a  great  hole  and  sending  up  a  cloud  of  dust  and  stones. 
The  suction  of  one,  as  it  passed,  was  like  a  sudden  gust  of  wind. 
Amid  the  smoke  from  forts  and  ships,  and  the  roar  and  thun- 
der of  shot  and  shell,  we  walked  to  and  fro,  feeling  that  our 
God  was  round  about  us.  "  Thou  shalt  not  be  afraid  for  the 
terror  by  night,  nor  for  the  arrow  that  flieth  by  day." 

When  the  firing  ceased,  six  unexploded  shells,  weighing  forty 
pounds  each,  were  found  within  a  hundred  feet  of  our  door. 
With  great  care  we  had  them  conveyed  to  the  river,  placed  in 
a  boat,  and  sunk. 

One  poor  heathen,  not  far  from  the  college,  found  a  shell, 
sat  astride  it,  and  began  to  work  with  chisel  and  hammer  to 
extract  the  powder.  It  burst,  carrying  off  both  his  limbs  into 
the  branches  of  a  tree  under  which  he  was  sitting.  He  lived 
for  a  few  minutes,  the  explosion  having  so  twisted  the  flesh 


THE   COMING   OF   THE  FRENCH  195 

and  arteries  that  the  escape  of  blood  was  somewhat  interfered 
with.  But  for  that  last  moment,  with  half  his  body  blown 
away,  his  mind  was  still  on  the  treasures  of  earth.  Seeing  the 
contents  of  his  pocket  on  the  ground,  he  said  with  his  last 
breath,  "  Pick  up  that  dollar."  Poor,  dark,  hopeless  heathen- 
ism! 

From  the  commencement  of  hostilities  until  that  date  I  had 
no  rest  night  or  day.  After  the  bombardment  I  was  ill  and 
unconscious  for  some  time.  Here  is  the  written  statement  of 
C.  H.  Johansen,  M.D.,  who  attended  me  at  the  time :  "  I  have 
been  the  medical  attendant  of  Rev.  Dr.  MacKay,  who  in  the 
beginning  of  the  war  was  overburdened  wTith  work,  and  in 
anxiety  about  the  Christian  people  of  the  stations.  This,  com- 
bined with  the  pernicious  influence  of  the  hot  Tamsui  climate, 
brought  on  inflammation  of  the  brain  (meningitis  cerebralis 
acute).  During  many  days  he  was  without  sleep,  and  this 
brought  on  utter  exhaustion  of  his  system.  The  fever  was 
never  less  than  one  hundred  and  two  degrees  during  those  days. 
One  day  a  crisis  seemed  to  approach ;  everybody's  opinion  was 
that  the  result  would  be  fatal,  all  medicines  having  failed  to 
produce  sleep.  Fortunately  I  heard  that  the  steamship  '  Hai- 
loong'  had  brought  ice  to  Tamsui  for  Mr.  John  Dodd.  At 
my  request,  Mr.  Dodd  gave  all  the  ice  he  had  to  cool  Dr. 
MacKay's  burning  head.  Almost  immediately  after  the  appli- 
cation of  the  ice  he  fell  into  a  sound  sleep,  which  lasted  for 
thirty-six  hours.  Then  the  ice  was  finished,  but  he  awoke 
saved." 

The  second  week  of  October,  my  wife,  children,  and  the 
Jamiesons  left  Tamsui  for  Hong  Kong  in  accordance  with  the 
orders  of  the  British  consul.  On  the  21st  I  was  induced  to 
board  the  steamship  "  Fu-kien  "  to  make  a  round  trip  and  re- 
turn to  Tamsui.  Four  days  afterward,  as  we  entered  the 
Hong  Kong  harbor,  we  heard  that  Tamsui  was  blockaded,  and 
that  we  could  not  return.     At  length,  hearing  that  the  block- 


196  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

ade  had  been  raised,  I  left  my  family  still  at  Hong  Kong  and 
went  on  board  the  steamship  "  Hai-loong."  When  half-way 
across  the  Formosa  Channel  we  had  to  tack  about  and  return 
to  the  mainland  for  shelter,  because  of  a  terrific  storm  and 
heavy  sea.  After  some  delay  we  again  headed  for  Tamsui; 
but  when  in  sight  of  that  port  we  saw  two  large  French  men- 
of-war,  one  on  either  hand,  guarding  the  entrance.  We  started 
as  if  to  pass  between  them,  and  signaled,  "  Blockade  raised." 
We  were  answered  by  a  blank  shot.  Our  captain  signaled 
again.  This  time  we  were  answered  by  a  shell  whizzing  across 
our  bow.  Immediately  the  bugle  sounded,  and  we  saw  guns 
run  out,  and  men  at  their  posts  ready  to  give  us  two  full  broad- 
sides. Our  little  merchant  steamer  moved  slowly  back,  and 
when  the  captain  boarded  the  French  war-ship  he  was  told  that 
the  report  of  the  blockade  being  raised  was  false,  and  that  if 
we  had  moved  a  foot  farther  forward  the  third  shot  would 
have  sunk  us.  We  then  steered  to  Amoy,  on  the  mainland, 
and  after  a  delay  of  one  hour  there  we  steamed  for  the  Pesca- 
dore  Islands,  not  far  from  Formosa,  where  the  French  head- 
quarters were.  There  the  French  admiral  was  interviewed, 
and  after  returning  to  Amoy  we  once  more  set  sail  for  Tamsui. 
One  day,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  I  stepped  ashore,  and 
was  met  by  preachers,  students,  and  converts,  many  of  whom 
wept  for  joy. 

After  some  time,  desiring  to  visit  the  churches,  I  procured 
a  pass,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy : 

"  British  Consulate,  Tamsui, 
"  May  27,  1885. 

"To  the   Officer   in   Chief   Command  of  the  French 
Forces  at  Kelung  : 

"  The  bearer  of  this  paper,  the  Rev.  George  Leslie  MacKay, 
D.D.,  a  British  subject,  missionary  in  Formosa,  wishes  to  enter 
Kelung  to  visit  his  chapel  and  his  house  there,  and  to  proceed 


THE  COMING   OF   THE  FRENCH  197 

through  Kelung  to  Kap-tsu-lan,  on  the  east  coast  of  Formosa, 
to  visit  his  converts  there.  Wherefore  I,  the  undersigned, 
consul  for  Great  Britain  at  Tamsui,  do  beg  the  officer  in  chief 
command  of  the  French  forces  in  Kelung  to  grant  the  said 
George  Leslie  MacKay  entry  into,  and  a  free  and  safe  passage 
through,  Kelung.  He  will  be  accompanied  by  two  Chinese 
followers  belonging  to  his  mission,  named,  respectively,  Giam 
Chheng  Hoa  and  lap  Sun. 

"A.  Frater, 
"Her  Britannic  Majesty's  Consul  at  Tamsui.1' 

I  took  a  bamboo  pole,  twenty  feet  in  length,  and  tied  there- 
on the  old  flag  of  Great  Britain ;  and,  with  the  two  preachers 
mentioned  in  the  pass,  and  a  burden-bearer,  proceeded  up  the 
river.  Through  Bang-kah  we  passed,  the  flag  waving  in  the 
breeze.  In  a  few  hours  we  neared  the  Chinese  encampment. 
Soldiers  rushed  out  and  shouted  in  their  own  dialect,  "The 
British  flag!"  We  marched  right  on.  Soldiers  opened  right 
and  left.  We  passed  through  thousands  of  them,  and  right 
up  into  the  presence  of  the  Chinese  commander-in-chief,  Liu 
Ming  Chuan.  A  few  words  inspired  mutual  confidence,  and  I 
changed  my  flag  for  a  flag  of  truce.  The  general  stated  that 
I  would  be  treated  with  respect  by  all  the  soldiers  under  his 
command,  but  he  advised  me  not  to  approach  the  French, 
lest  I  should  be  fired  upon.  An  American  was  in  the  employ 
of  this  military  official,  and  he  drew  up  the  soldiers  under  his 
command  into  two  lines  to  present  arms  as  we  passed  between. 
We  were  then  escorted  within  sight  of  the  boundary  between 
the  Chinese  and  the  French,  who  were  still  in  earthworks  on 
the  tops  of  the  hills  and  peaks. 

We  crossed  the  river  in  a  longboat,  and  went  into  a  cleared 
spot  of  ground— a  tea-plantation— planted  our  flagstaff,  stood 
beside  it,  and  waited  for  the  French  signals.  We  were  observed 
immediately,  and  eight  soldiers  ran  down  the  steep  hillside  to 


198  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

meet  us.  When  within  hailing  distance  one  waved  his  hand. 
I  understood  that  to  mean  that  we  should  advance,  and  accord- 
ingly we  moved  forward.  When  in  a  winding  path,  where  the 
reeds  were  in  some  places  above  our  heads,  marching  single 
file,  we  came  suddenly  face  to  face  with  the  soldiers.  I  was 
in  advance  of  our  party.  Straightway  four  of  the  soldiers 
dropped  on  their  knees,  the  other  four  stood  still,  and  all 
leveled  their  rifles  at  my  breast.  Turning  around,  I  pointed 
to  my  flag  of  truce,  and  signaled  the  bearer  to  step  to  my  side. 
One  of  the  soldiers  advanced.  I  stepped  forward,  saluted  him, 
and  showed  him  my  pass.  He  glanced  at  it,  and  after  some 
altercation,  in  which  one  of  the  Frenchmen  who  knew  a  little 
English  acted  as  interpreter,  we  were  blindfolded  with  our 
pocket-handkerchiefs,  and  conducted  by  the  soldiers,  one  on 
each  side  of  me,  and  one  with  each  of  my  followers.  They  led 
us  through  streams  of  water,  among  tall  grass,  under  a  burning 
sun,  for  seven  long  hours.  Had  we  been  taken  in  a  straight 
course  we  could  have  covered  the  distance  within  an  hour. 
About  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  were  brought  into  the 
presence  of  the  French  colonel  in  the  Chinese  custom-house, 
and  there  a  number  of  impertinent  questions  were  put  to  us. 
We  were  told  that  we  could  not  remain  ashore  for  the  night, 
but  would  be  sent  on  board  a  man-of-war  in  the  harbor,  as 
prisoners  of  war.  We  were  then  led  away  to  the  water's  edge, 
taken  into  a  boat,  relieved  of  the  blindfold,  and  in  five  minutes 
were  alongside  of  the  man-of-war.  There  was  much  sneering 
and  laughing  among  the  soldiers  and  sailors,  for  they  sup- 
posed that  in  me  they  had  captured  a  German  spy.  We  were 
ordered  upon  deck,  where  the  white-haired  commander,  after 
a  short  interview,  gave  orders  that  my  party  should  be  kindly 
treated.  I  was  taken  into  his  cabin,  not  as  a  prisoner  of  war, 
but  as  a  guest.  The  good  old  Frenchman  said  he  had  heard 
about  our  mission  work,  for  they  had  an  English  pilot  in  the 
fleet  who  was  an  old  Formosan  friend  of  mine.    In  the  morn- 


THE  COMING   OF   THE  FRENCH  199 

ing  he  went  ashore  with  us  himself,  and  the  insolent  colonel 
was  much  more  civil.  The  old  commander  said  he  regretted 
that  we  would  have  to  be  blindfolded  again  in  going  back 
through  the  lines,  but  it  was  in  accordance  with  the  usages  of 
war.  In  returning  through  the  lines  all  were  more  respectful 
and  friendly  when  they  learned  who  we  were.  Soldiers  were 
told  off  to  take  us  within  sight  of  the  Chinese  lines.  They 
shook  hands  cordially,  and  watched  us  until  we  recrossed  the 
stream  in  the  same  boat  and  went  outside  of  their  boundary- 
line. 

Once  more  at  liberty,  we  visited  the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain,  on  the 
east  coast,  and  found  the  chapels  clean,  and  the  converts  cheer- 
ful and  happy.  The  persecutions  and  hardships  they  endured 
only  bound  them  more  closely  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  There 
were  no  desertions  from  his  standard,  and  everywhere  the 
heathen  marveled  to  see  men  and  women  prefer  suffering  and 
even  death  to  peace,  dollars,  and  life  that  could  be  theirs  only 
by  denying  their  Lord. 

Leaving  Tamsui  in  June,  1885,  under  a  burning  sun,  we  pro- 
ceeded to  Kelung,  and  boarded  the  French  man-of-war  com- 
manded by  Vice-Admiral  Lespes.  We  were  told  we  could  get 
ashore  anywhere,  as  the  French  would  soon  be  away.  I  im- 
mediately rowed  to  Palm  Island,  and  arrived  in  time  to  save 
our  property  from  the  mobs  that  were  gathering  in  crowds  to 
loot  and  plunder  before  the  owners  returned.  I  hoisted  the 
British  flag  over  the  mission  premises.  In  half  an  hour  we 
heard  the  bugle  sound,  and  there  was  commotion  among  the 
ironclads.  A  tremendous  cheer  rent  the  air,  for  the  French 
sailors  were  glad  the  war  was  over.  One  ship  steamed  slowly 
up,  followed  by  another  and  another,  until  eight  were  in  line 
out  at  sea.  One  remained  to  pick  up  stragglers.  I  boarded 
her  the  following  day,  and  the  commander  assured  me  that 
he  was  disgusted  with  the  whole  affair,  as  was  also  the  admiral 
himself. 


200  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

On  shore  I  found  not  a  vestige  of  the  Kelung  chapel  save 
rubbish.  The  temples  had  been  plundered,  the  carved  work 
defaced,  buildings  overthrown,  roofs  torn  from  houses,  and  poor 
Kelung  was  lying  silent  and  deserted.  The  Chinese  were  on 
the  hills,  waiting  the  departure  of  the  French,  when  they  would 
return  to  their  desolated  homes  in  the  town. 

When  the  French  left,  the  heathen  were  jubilant.  They 
thought  Christianity  was  blotted  out  because  the  chapels  had 
been  destroyed.  Everywhere  the  shout  of  derision  was  made 
to  ring  in  our  ears:  "  Long-tsong  bo-khi!"  the  meaning  of 
which  is,  "  The  mission  is  wiped  out."  We  were  not  discour- 
aged, however,  and  I  prepared  a  statement  of  our  losses  in  the 
destruction  of  mission  property  by  looters,  and  submitted  it 
to  Liu  Ming  Chuan,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Chinese 
forces.  Without  delay  or  argument,  and  without  reference  to 
Peking,  he  paid  as  indemnity  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  Mexican 
dollars. 

When  I  received  the  indemnity  money  and  planned  the  re- 
building of  the  chapels  I  had  to  decide  whether  to  erect  twenty- 
four  fragile  structures  or  twelve  medium  ones  or  six  substan- 
tial, commodious  buildings.  Deciding  on  the  last,  I  drew 
plans  and  made  models.  Standing  on  the  site  of  the  ruins  at 
Sin-tiam,  we  lifted  a  song  of  praise  to  God.  With  our  chapel 
in  ruins,  the  townspeople  and  others  looking  on  thought  us 
crazy.  But  out  of  the  ruins  another  building  would  rise,  and 
so  we  sang  with  glad  and  hopeful  hearts.  I  employed  men  to 
go  into  the  neighboring  hill,  and  quarry  sandstone  ;  and  others 
with  their  boats  to  bring  poles,  boards,  and  lime  for  building. 
Neither  the  workmen  nor  the  overseers  ever  saw  a  building  like 
the  one  we  now  planned  to  erect.  I  made  some  of  the  models 
out  of  turnips,  others  out  of  brick  and  mortar,  and  still  others 
out  of  wood.  "We  began  work  at  three  places  simultaneously 
—  at  Sin-tiam,  Bang-kah,  and  Sek-khau — and  in  twelve  weeks 
we  finished  three  splendid  edifices.    How  imposing  they  looked, 


THE  COMING    OF    THE  FRENCH  201 

with  their  seventy  or  eighty  feet  of  tower  and  spire  of  solid 
masonry!  And  how  our  spirits  revived  as  we  saw  them  rise 
in  their  splendid  beauty  on  the  site  of  our  ruined  churches! 

But  why  use  money  in  building  spires?  Was  it  for  orna- 
mental or  for  useful  purposes  ?  For  both  ornament  and  use, 
especially  as  a  standing  disproof  of  the  Chinese  superstition 
about  feng-shuy,  by  which  in  a  general  way  people  mean 
"  good  luck,"  and  which  has  reference  to  a  thousand  things. 
They  suppose,  for  instance,  that  there  is  a  sort  of  equilib- 
rium, or  indefinable  something,  in  earth  or  air,  which  must  not 
be  recklessly  interfered  with.  It  is  only  necessary  to  con- 
tinue the  wall  of  a  new  chapel  a  few  inches  above  the  surround- 
ing buildings  to  arouse  neighbors  into  fury  and  consternation, 
for  that  would  interfere  with  feng-shuy.  Thousands  of  dis- 
turbances have  been  caused  by  foreigners  carrying  on  their 
own  work  in  their  own  way,  but  unwittingly  running  counter 
to  this  Chinese  notion.  Knowing  that  the  governor  was  pro- 
gressive in  his  ideas,  that  he  was  friendly  to  myself  and  the  mis- 
sion, and  that  he  had  no  great  affection  for  the  Bang-kah  peo- 
ple, who  through  all  the  French  troubles  had  maligned  and 
abused  him,  I  thought  it  opportune,  now  that  new  churches 
were  being  built,  to  erect  spires  upon  the  chapels  at  Bang-kah, 
Sin-tiam,  and  Sek-khau,  to  show  the  heathen  that  their  notion 
of  good  luck  was  vain  superstition.  We  continued  the  tower 
above  the  gable  of  the  roof  seven  feet,  and  then  higher  and 
higher.  The  people  would  stand  and  gaze  for  hours  in  won- 
der and  amazement.  But  they  made  no  disturbance,  save  that 
they  quarreled  among  themselves.  The  point  in  dispute  was 
whether  it  was  the  scaffold  or  the  newly  erected  spire  that  was 
swaying  in  the  wind,  and  once  the  contention  almost  ended  in 
a  hand-to-hand  fight.  We  finished  the  spires.  On  the  front 
of  each,  in  stucco  plaster,  I  put  the  burning  bush,  with  the  his- 
toric motto,  "  Nee  tamen  consumebatur,"  in  Chinese  characters. 

The  cry  about  the  mission  being  wiped  out  now  ceased  to 


202  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

be  heard,  and  the  people  called  themselves  fools  for  tearing 
down  the  old  chapels.  "  Look  now,"  they  said,  "  the  chapel 
towers  above  our  temple.  It  is  larger  than  the  one  we  de- 
stroyed. If  we  touch  this  one  he  will  build  another  and  a 
bigger  one.     We  cannot  stop  the  barbarian  missionary." 

While  the  work  of  rebuilding  chapels  went  on,  other  depart- 
ments were  not  neglected.  Medicines  were  dispensed,  the 
students  were  taught,  the  various  fields  were  visited,  and  every 
night  the  gospel  was  preached. 

New  churches  were  erected  in  place  of  those  destroyed. 
Repairs  were  made  wherever  needed.  And  that  was  not  all. 
Not  only  had  we  our  forty  chapels,  as  before  the  coming  of 
the  French,  but  five  new  stations  were  opened,  and  at  each  a 
chapel  was  erected.  Month  by  month  and  year  by  year  the 
work  prospered.  Point  after  point  was  occupied.  Chapel 
after  chapel  was  built.  The  forty  became  fifty,  and  the  fifty 
increased  to  sixty.  That  was  how  the  mission  was  wiped 
out!  The  fire  of  God  was  indeed  in  the  bush,  but  over  it  all 
was  inscribed  "  Nee  tamen  consumebatur." 


THE  CONQUERED  ABORIGINES 


CHAPTER    XXI 


PE-PO-HOAN    CHARACTERISTICS 


Subduing  the  savages — Chinese  and  Pe-po-hoan — Original  houses — 
Frankness  of  Pe-po-hoan — Pe-po-hoan  cruelty — Nature-worship — 
Dislike  of  idolatry 

AS  has  already  been  indicated,  the  Chinese  in  Formosa  have 
ii  been  gradually  overcoming  the  various  aboriginal  tribes 
and  subduing  them  to  their  own  modes  of  life  and  worship. 
We  have,  therefore,  on  the  island  aborigines  in  all  stages  of 
civilization.  In  the  mountains  are  the  wild,  unconquered  sav- 
ages, who  scorn  the  intruder's  claim,  and  never  lose  an  oppor- 
tunity to  wreak  vengeance  on  some  ill-fated  Chinese  head. 
These  the  Chinese  call  Chhi-hoan  ("raw  barbarians").  But 
the  power  and  patience  of  the  superior  race  are  too  much  for 
the  unskilled  and  shiftless  savage,  and  tribe  after  tribe  is  being 
brought  under  subjection.  We  come  now  to  speak  of  these 
conquered  aborigines,  and  of  life  and  work  among  them.  The 
most  important  are  the  Pe-po-hoan,  with  whom  are  allied  the 
few  settlements  of  Sek-hoan.  The  Lam-si-hoan,  farther  south, 
are  not  far  removed  from  savage,  and  have  only  recently  sub- 
mitted to  Chinese  authority. 

The  Pe-po-hoan  are  found  in  many  parts  of  the  island  ;  but 
their  home  in  North  Formosa  is  in  the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain,  a 
rich,  low-lying  tract  on  the  east  coast,  between  the  mountains 
and  the  sea.  This  plain  is  of  recent  geological  date,  and  was 
formed  by  the  filling  up  of  a  large  bay  by  sand  and  debris 

205 


206  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

washed  down  by  mountain  streams.  The  soil  is  admirably 
adapted  for  rice-culture,  which  is,  indeed,  carried  on  very  ex- 
tensively by  the  inhabitants.  The  atmosphere,  however,  is 
very  damp ;  heavy  vapors  driven  in  from  the  sea,  and  floating 
clouds  tapped  by  the  mountain-peaks,  not  only  make  traveling 
uncomfortable  and  at  times  well-nigh  impossible,  but  make  life 
itself,  to  both  native  and  foreigner,  a  burden  too  heavy  to  be 
borne.  The  dread  malaria  works  havoc  in  every  home.  Prior 
to  their  subjugation  by  the  Chinese  the  Pe-po-hoan  lived  in 
houses  very  different  in  style  and  very  much  superior  to  those 
they  now  inhabit.  Their  raised  floors  were  much  more  con- 
ducive to  health  than  the  damp  mud-floors  of  the  Chinese 
dwellings  now  to  be  seen  everywhere  in  the  plain.  In  this  re- 
spect, at  least,  the  change  has  been  for  the  worse.  The  Pe-po- 
hoan  is  by  nature  simple,  easily  imposed  upon,  thriftless,  and 
improvident.  He  has  still  a  streak  of  the  savage,  and  in  those 
qualities  that  go  to  insure  success  he  is  distinctly  inferior  to  his 
Chinese  conqueror.  There  were  at  one  time  thirty-six  thriving 
villages  in  the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain.  The  Chinese  settlers  came 
in,  enterprising,  aggressive,  and  not  overscrupulous,  and  little 
by  little  the  weaker  went  to  the  wall.  The  Pe-po-hoan  were 
crowded  out  of  the  cultivated  land,  many  of  their  villages  were 
scattered,  and  they  had  to  begin  life  anew  in  the  waste  jungle. 
And  very  often,  when  they  had  succeeded  in  reclaiming  land 
to  grow  rice  and  vegetables  enough  to  supply  their  meager 
wants,  the  greedy  Chinese  would  again  appear,  and,  either  by 
winning  their  confidence  or  by  engaging  them  in  dispute, 
would  gain  a  foothold  and  in  the  end  rob  them  of  their  lands. 
Being  unable  to  read  and  being  ignorant  of  law,  they  are 
almost  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  their  enemies.  It  sometimes 
makes  one's  blood  boil  to  see  the  iniquities  practised  upon 
these  simple-minded  creatures  by  Chinese  officials,  speculators, 
and  traders. 

When  foreigners  first  come  in  contact  with  the  Pe-po-hoan 


PE-PO-HOAN   CHARACTERISTICS  207 

they  are  delighted  with  their  frankness  of  manner  and  warmth 
of  emotion,  and  forthwith  express  the  opinion  that  this  race  is 
superior  to  the  Chinese.  I  never  shared  that  view.  The 
longer  my  experience  among  them  the  plainer  appears  to  me 
the  inferiority  of  the  Malayan.  For  downright  cruelty  and 
cut-throat  baseness  the  Pe-po-hoan  far  outdistance  the  Chinese, 
and  with  all  their  easy  good  nature  they  manifest  the  revenge- 
ful spirit  of  the  race  to  which  they  belong.  One  example  will 
illustrate  Pe-po-hoan  cruelty.  A  girl  was  engaged  to  be  mar- 
ried to  a  young  man.  One  night,  when  the  whole  village  was 
staggering  in  a  drunken  carousal,  the  girl  was  lost.  Her  dead 
body  was  found  by  a  search-party,  stripped  of  its  clothes. 
Suspicion  fell  on  her  lover.  He  tried  to  escape,  but  was  seized 
and  placed  in  the  stocks,  a  rude  construction  of  logs  extem- 
porized for  the  occasion,  capable  of  inflicting  great  agony. 
His  hands  were  stretched  out  above  his  head  and  tied.  In  a 
few  days  he  was  removed  to  the  sand-bank  beside  the  sea. 
The  father  and  mother  of  the  maiden  took  an  old  knife, 
slashed  his  limbs,  and  cut  portions  of  his  body  and  put  them 
into  his  mouth.  Pie  was  left  there  on  the  burning  sand  with 
the  blood  oozing  from  his  wounds  and  drying  in  the  heat  of 
the  sun.  His  thirst  became  intolerable,  and  he  cried  piteously 
for  some  one  to  end  his  misery.  But  no;  his  sister  was  not 
allowed  to  go  to  him  with  one  small  "  bamboo  "  of  water  to 
quench  his  thirst.  There  he  perished,  and  his  body  was  left 
to  the  ravenous  dogs  of  the  plain.  Such  is  Pe-po-hoan  venge- 
ance. 

Originally  the  Pe-po-hoan  were  nature-worshipers,  like  the 
savages  in  the  mountains.  They  had  no  temple,  idol,  or 
priest.  They  had  no  idea  of  a  personal  God,  but  believed  in 
the  existence  of  innumerable  spirits,  whose  favor  and  help  it 
was  to  their  interest  to  propitiate.  They  reverenced  the  spirits 
of  their  ancestors,  who  had  gone  away,  as  the  American  Indian 
would  say,  to  the  "  happy  hunting-ground."    They  had  all  the 


2o8  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

superstitions  of  the  savage,  and  indulged  in  such  feasts  and 
orgies  as  still  constitute  the  religious  rites  of  the  untamed 
mountain  tribes. 

But  all  this  was  changed  when  they  bowed  their  necks  to 
the  yoke  of  civilization.  Their  conquerors  forced  upon  them 
not  only  the  cue  and  their  style  of  dress,  but  also  the  whole 
paraphernalia  of  Chinese  idolatry.  Whenever  a  tribe  submits, 
the  first  thing  is  to  shave  the  head  in  token  of  allegiance,  and 
then  temples,  idols,  and  tablets  are  introduced.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  the  religion  of  the  Pe-po-hoan  is  the  potpourri  of 
Confucian  morality,  Buddhistic  idolatry,  and  Tauistic  demon- 
olatry,  to  which  they  have  added  relics  of  their  own  nature- 
worship  and  superstition.  Some  of  the  younger  devotees  are 
the  most  bigoted  idolaters  in  China,  but  very  many  of  the 
people  hate  the  new  order  of  things.  Idolatry  does  not  suit 
the  average  Pe-po-hoan,  and  it  is  only  of  necessity  that  he  sub- 
mits to  even  the  formal  observance  of  its  rites  and  ceremonies. 
It  is  political  rather  than  religious,  and  to  the  large  majority 
is  meaningless,  except  as  a  reminder  of  their  enslavement  to 
an  alien  race. 


CHAPTER    XXII 


RICE-FARMING    IN    FORMOSA 


The  honored  farmer — A  Formosa  farm — Irrigation — The  water-buffalo 
— Rice-culture — The  farmer's  lot 


FORMOSA  is  essentially  an  agricultural  country,  and  the 
farming  class  is  both  important  and  honorable.  In  all 
parts  of  China  the  place  of  honor  is  given  to  the  literary  man  ; 
but  the  farmer  makes  a  good  second,  and  is  much  more  highly 
esteemed  than  either  the  mechanic  or  the  merchant.  The  em- 
peror pays  honor  to  husbandry  once  a  year  by  holding  the  plow. 
In  Formosa  the  agricultural  class  is  the  mainstay  of  the  coun- 
try. They  are,  on  the  whole,  hard-working,  honest,  and  free 
from  many  of  the  vices  that  characterize  city  life.  As  the 
Kap-tsu-lan  plain  is  one  of  the  richest  parts  of  the  island,  and 
as  rice  is  the  great  staple  of  the  land,  special  reference  may 
now  be  made  to  this  department  of  industry.  A  plain  and 
brief  account  of  rice-farming  should  find  interested  readers 
among  other  classes  than  those  who  themselves  till  the  soil. 

When  we  speak  of  a  farm  in  Formosa  one  must  not  ima- 
gine broad  fields  inclosed  in  high  fences,  and  each  farmer  the 
proud  possessor  of  one  hundred  or  one  thousand  acres.  The 
entire  farm  of  a  family  in  Formosa  would  make  but  a  garden 
for  an  agriculturist  in  America.  The  owner  of  eight  or  ten 
acres  is  looked  upon  as  in  easy  circumstances.  The  farms  are 
all   small  and  are   entirely  without   fences.     A   rice-farm   is 

209 


210  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

divided  into  little  irregular  plots  for  the  purposes  of  irrigation. 
These  plots  are  made  by  throwing  up  around  each  low  mounds 
of  earth,  by  which  means  the  water  is  retained  at  the  required 
depth. 

Rice  is  grown  in  fields  flooded  with  water,  and  the  farmer 
exhibits  great  ingenuity  in  the  various  modes  of  conveying  the 
wrater  to  where  it  is  required.  The  most  efficient  is  by  a  great 
watercourse  constructed  along  the  circuitous  bank  of  the  river 
near  Sin-tiam,  by  which  the  whole  of  the  Bang-kah  plain  is 
thoroughly  irrigated  by  water  taken  from  within  the  moun- 
tains. In  the  construction  of  this  watercourse  a  tunnel  eight 
feet  by  six  was  made  through  an  extensive  rock ;  an  aqueduct 
fifty  feet  high  carries  the  water  over  another  river,  and  when 
it  reaches  the  Bang-kah  plain  it  is  divided  into  innumerable 
drains  and  conveyed  to  all  the  farms.  A  clumsy  contrivance 
like  a  treadmill  is  sometimes  used  for  slight  elevations  ;  a  wind- 
lass fixed  in  a  box-trough,  the  lower  end  of  which  is  in  the 
stream,  is  operated  by  two  men,  and  works  an  endless  chain 
of  carriers  conveying  the  water  up  the  trough  and  depositing 
it  in  a  drain  on  the  bank.  Another  method  of  irrigation  is 
comparatively  simple.  On  the  uplands  a  circular  reservoir  is 
excavated  and  is  supplied  by  the  heavy  rains.  These  reser- 
voirs are  exceedingly  useful,  not  only  for  the  purposes  of  irri- 
gation, but  also  as  bathing-places  for  the  water-buffalo.  By 
these  methods  every  foot  of  rice-lands  is  adequately  supplied 
with  water. 

For  dry  plowing  the  ox  is  used,  but  in  rice-cultivation  the 
water-buffalo  is  indispensable.  He  is,  indeed,  by  far  the  most 
valuable  animal  to  the  farmer,  and  so  highly  prized  that  proc- 
lamations are  often  issued  forbidding  the  people  to  slay  him 
for  food.  He  is  more  uncouth  than  the  ox,  and  on  account 
of  his  intractability  of  temper  would  seem  to  have  been  only 
recently  domesticated.  Large  pools  of  water  are  absolutely 
necessary  for  this  creature  to  wallow  or  bathe  in ;  hence  the 


RICE-FARMING  IN  FORMOSA  211 

name  water-buffalo.  As  soon  as  released  from  the  plow  he 
will  plunge  into  the  pond  and  remain  there  a  considerable 
time,  with  only  part  of  his  head,  his  nostrils,  and  his  horns  above 
water.  The  implements  required  by  the  farmer  are  few  and 
simple,  and  are  no  improvement  on  those  used  centuries  ago. 
A  broad  hoe,  a  wooden  plow  with  an  iron  share,  a  heavy 
wooden  harrow  or  "  drag,"  and  a  harvest-sickle  are  all  that  he 
requires. 

The  rice  grown  in  Formosa  must  be  distinguished  from  the 
rice  (Zizania  aquatica)  found  growing  wild  in  Rice  Lake,  On- 
tario, and  other  parts  of  America.  It  is  a  distinct  variety 
[Oryza  sativa)  and  of  superior  quality.  A  mountain-rice  is 
grown  on  the  dry  uplands,  and  does  not  require  irrigation,  but 
it  is  quite  inferior. 

Rice  is  not  sown  broadcast  in  the  open  field,  like  wheat  and 
other  cereals,  but  requires  to  be  transplanted.  The  seeds  are 
first  steeped  in  water  and  spread  out  in  large  baskets  under 
cover  till  they  have  begun  to  sprout.  They  are  then  sown 
thickly  in  a  small  bed,  which  is  protected  from  winds  and  birds 
and  watered  with  a  liquid  fertilizer.  At  the  expiration  of  three 
months  the  crop  is  about  six  inches  high  and  is  ready  for 
transplanting. 

Meanwhile  the  large  rice-field  has  been  plowed,  harrowed, 
and  prepared  for  the  plants.  The  field  slopes  down  to  one 
side,  and  the  plots  already  referred  to  are  submerged  in  about 
three  inches  of  water.  The  water  from  the  reservoir  or  aque- 
duct is  first  run  into  the  plot  farthest  up  the  slope,  from  which 
it  is  let  into  the  others,  one  by  one,  by  opening  a  place  in  the 
dividing  mounds  or  dikes.  The  entire  field  must  be  kept  under 
water  from  before  the  transplanting  until  the  grain  is  ready  to 
harvest. 

Transplanting  rice  is  a  very  arduous  and  wearisome  task. 
The  farmer  digs  up  the  plants  from  the  bed  in  spadefuls,  leav- 
ing a  liberal  supply  of  mould  about  the  roots.     With  a  large 


212  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

flat  basket  of  these  seedling  plants  he  goes  into  the  miry  field, 
where  the  mud  and  water  reach  his  knees.  The  basket  floats 
on  the  water.  Carrying  a  supply  of  the  plants  in  his  left 
hand,  the  farmer  wades  backward  from  end  to  end  of  the 
row,  and  breaking  off  tufts,  he  sinks  them  in  the  soft  mud  be- 
neath the  water  at  intervals  of  about  eighteen  inches.  The 
rows  are  about  two  feet  apart.  Then  a  fortnight  later  he  goes 
over  the  whole  field  again  on  his  bare  knees,  removing  the 
duckweed  and  other  obnoxious  growths.  This  is  perhaps  the 
most  distasteful  part  of  the  farmer's  work,  and  is  a  fruitful 
source  of  rheumatism.  Before  the  grain  is  ripe  he  may  pos- 
sibly go  through  once  more,  bending  the  bunches  down  to 
protect  them  from  sweeping  winds. 

Three  months  after  the  transplanting  comes  the  harvest. 
This  is  a  busy  season  with  the  husbandman.  The  water  is 
drained  off ;  the  rice  is  cut  rapidly  by  a  reaper  with  the  sickle 
or  bill-hook,  and  made  into  bunches  large  enough  to  be  held 
conveniently  between  the  hands.  The  reaper  is  followed  im- 
mediately by  a  thresher,  who  draws  after  him  a  portable  tub. 
This  tub  has  poles  set  up  around  almost  the  entire  mouth,  to 
which  is  fastened  a  canvas  screen  to  prevent  the  rice-grains 
from  flying  away.  At  the  open  space  the  thresher  stands,  and 
taking  a  bunch  of  rice,  he  gives  it  two  smart  strokes  on  a  lad- 
der-like framework  placed  within  the  tub  after  the  fashion  of 
a  wash-board.  The  straw  is  then  bound  into  sheaves,  and 
when  dry  is  stacked  away  to  be  used  as  fodder  for  the  water- 
buffalo.  The  grain  is  carried  home  in  large  baskets  and  placed 
on  a  winnowing-floor  in  front  of  the  house.  There  it  is  cared 
for,  heaped  up,  and  covered  every  night  with  rice-straw,  and 
spread  out  in  the  morning  with  wooden  hoes.  It  is  then  win- 
nowed in  a  fanning-mill  similar  to  that  used  by  Western  farm- 
ers, and  is  stowed  away  in  granaries.  The  next  process  is  the 
hulling,  which  is  done  in  a  hand-mill  constructed  on  the  prin- 


RICE-FARMING   IN  FORMOSA  213 

ciple  of  the  millstone.  This  removes  the  chaff.  The  bran- 
like sheJl  is  removed  by  pounding  the  grain  in  a  mortar.  The 
rice  is  then  ready  for  the  pot. 

The  sheaves  are  no  sooner  removed  from  the  field  than  the 
plowman  is  once  more  in  the  mud  and  water,  a  second  crop, 
which  is  now  ready  for  transplanting,  is  immediately  "  set,"  and 
the  second  harvest  is  reaped  in  September  or  October.  After 
the  second  crop  is  removed,  some  plant  sweet  potatoes,  others 
mustard  or  rape  for  fertilizing.  Three  crops  can  thus  be  se- 
cured in  the  course  of  a  year. 

As  two  crops,  and  sometimes  three,  are  reaped  every  year, 
the  farmer  is  kept  busy  from  spring  to  autumn.  During  seed- 
time and  harvest  his  wife  rises  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
cooks  rice  and  salted  vegetables,  prepares  hot  water  for  the 
men  to  wash  with,  and  about  four  calls  them  up  to  breakfast. 
The  men  are  in  the  field  about  five  o'clock  and  work  till  ten, 
when  a  lunch  of  boiled  rice  and  some  salted  vegetable  is  car- 
ried out  to  them.  At  noon  they  return  home  for  dinner,  and 
rest  for  an  hour  and  a  half.  In  the  afternoon  the  same  kind 
of  lunch  is  taken  to  the  field.  At  seven  o'clock  they  return, 
wash  their  breasts  and  limbs,  and  sit  down  to  a  better  meal, 
generally  consisting  of  a  tiny  cup  of  hot  liquor,  pork,  and  fresh 
vegetables  boiled  with  rice.     At  nine  they  retire. 

The  farmer's  lot  in  North  Formosa  is  not  altogether  an 
unhappy  one.  He  works  hard  and  is  generally  thrifty  and 
economical.  His  wants  are  few  and  easily  supplied.  There 
is  monotony,  perhaps,  but  then  he  knows  nothing  of  the 
"  nameless  longing  "  that  fills  the  breasts  of  much-read  farmers 
in  the  restless  West.  He  has  no  high  ideals,  and  if  he  suc- 
ceeds in  providing  himself  and  his  family  with  rice  and  vege- 
tables he  does  not  object  to  the  drudgery  of  his  lot.  The 
Pe-po-hoan  farmer  in  the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain  would  be  tolerably 
comfortable  were  it  not  for  the  oppression  of  the  Chinese 


2I4  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 


landowners  and  yamen  men,  who  often  rob  him  of  his  hard- 
earned  cash  and  evict  him  from  his  land.  Under  the  Japa- 
nese regime  all  this  is  likely  to  be  changed,  and  the  various 
aboriginal  tribes  may  look  forward  to  a  brighter  day  under  the 
flag  of  the  "  Rising  Sun." 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

MISSION    WORK    AMONG    THE    PE-PO-HOAN 

Beginnings — Traveling — Night  in  a  rice-field — "Discouraging" — The 
first  chapel — Results — "  No  room  for  barbarians  " — Night  in  an  ox- 
stable — An  old  feud — Savage  craft — A  surgical  operation — At  Sin- 
sia — Service  at  Pak-tau — Dr.  Warburg 

HAVING  gained  a  foothold  for  the  gospel  and  established 
churches  among  the  Chinese  in  the  north  and  west,  our 
attention  began  to  be  directed  toward  the  civilized  aborigines 
in  the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain  on  the  east.  I  had  already  learned 
something  of  the  Pe-po-hoan  character,  and  was  prepared  to 
find  them  more  emotional,  approachable,  and  responsive  than 
the  Chinese,  although,  perhaps,  less  solid  and  stable.  The 
obstacles  to  the  gospel  among  them  were  not  different  from 
those  meeting  us  everywhere.  They  were  all  heathen,  blinded 
by  superstition,  degraded  by  idolatry,  and  with  few  and  weak 
aspirations  after  higher  things.  Many  of  them  are  poor,  and 
are  kept  in  poverty  partly  by  their  own  indolence,  partly  by 
untoward  circumstances,  and  mainly  by  Chinese  exactions  and 
oppression.  They  are  warm-hearted,  and,  notwithstanding 
many  weaknesses  and  failures,  work  among  them  has  been  full 
of  inspiration  and  encouragement. 

Setting  out  from  Tamsui  with  a  party  of  students,  we  made 
our  way  over  the  mountain-ranges  south  of  Kelung  and  entered 
the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain.  As  this  plain  is  but  a  few  feet  above 
the  sea-level,  and  as  the  rainfall  is  very  much  greater  than  in 

215 


216  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

other  parts  of  the  island,  traveling  is  always  attended  with 
discomfort  and  difficulty.  By  keeping  near  the  sea  one  can 
find  a  rather  dry  path,  but  inland,  during  the  rainy  days,  one 
has  to  wade  through  sticky  mud,  sometimes  a  foot  and  a  half 
in  depth.  The  paths  through  the  rice-fields  are  narrow  and 
winding,  and  when  the  fields  are  irrigated  are  at  times  com- 
pletely submerged.  Traveling  near  the  base  of  the  mountain, 
we  passed  by  the  mouth  of  a  ravine,  and  there  we  heard  yells 
and  screams.  Immediately  a  Chinese  came  up,  breathless,  and 
reported  that  four  of  his  companions  had  just  been  speared 
and  beheaded  by  the  savages,  and  that  he  escaped  by  dodg- 
ing. On  entering  again  on  the  steep  brow  of  a  hill  overlook- 
ing the  sea,  I  was  in  advance,  and  was  just  past  the  mouth  of 
the  gorge  when  three  savages  with  spears  rushed  out  and  at- 
tacked several  elders  who  were  a  little  way  in  the  rear.  The 
elders,  with  great  presence  of  mind,  threw  themselves  into  the 
water  and  got  out  of  reach  of  the  deadly  thrust. 

Once,  overtaken  by  night,  we  got  astray  and  went  miles  out 
of  our  way.  The  night  was  dark,  and  we  were  wet,  hungry, 
and  absolutely  without  our  bearings.  We  staggered  round 
and  round  the  plats  of  a  rice-field,  stumbling  into  the  mud 
and  water,  until  we  stood  still  and  thought  awhile.  It  was  a 
moment  for  serious  thought.  We  were  lost  and  in  a  strange 
territory.  No  light  could  be  seen  near  or  far.  But  we  re- 
membered that  we  were  on  our  Master's  business.  My  stu- 
dents uttered  no  word  of  complaint ;  indeed,  they  were  posi- 
tively cheerful.  We  thought  of  God  in  front,  God  in  the  rear, 
God  on  the  right,  God  on  the  left,  God  within,  God  above, 
and  underneath  the  everlasting  arms.  So  we  plodded  along, 
tumbling  into  mud-pools,  scrambling  out,  and  pushing  on 
again.  The  first  object  with  which  we  came  in  contact  I 
knew  by  touch  to  be  a  rice-stack,  and  we  passed  the  night 
under  its  bulging  sides. 

The  next  night  was  spent  in  a  grass-covered  hut.     Its  sides 


MISSION   WORK  AMONG    THE  PE-PO-HOAN        217 

were  of  reeds,  but  the  mud  had  been  washed  from  the  inter- 
stices and  now  the  rain  was  driven  in  on  the  black  floor. 
Going  right  to  one  of  the  villages  of  about  three  hundred  in- 
habitants, we  were  received  with  disdain.  The  men  grunted, 
and  calling  out  "Barbarian!"  and  "Foreign  devil!"  walked 
away.  Women  and  children  ran  into  their  houses,  and  then 
urged  wolfish-looking  dogs  upon  us.  We  stood  listening  to 
the  yelping  of  these  hungry  creatures,  and  were  obliged  to 
leave,  for  not  a  soul  in  the  village  would  hear  our  words.  We 
visited  another  village  and  received  similar  treatment.  This 
experience  was  repeated  in  a  third  village.  Up  and  down 
through  that  plain  we  labored,  tour  after  tour,  and  still  no  one 
came  forward  to  accept  our  message  of  salvation.  "  How 
discouraging!  "  I  hear  some  one  say.  Who  calls  such  experi- 
ences discouraging  ?  I  do  not.  I  never  did.  Our  business 
is  to  do  our  duty,  and  to  do  it  independently  of  what  men  call 
encouragement  and  discouragement.  I  never  saw  anything 
to  discourage  in  twenty-three  long  years  in  North  Formosa. 

At  length  three  men  from  a  fishing-village  by  the  sea  came 
and  said :  "  You  have  been  going  through  and  through  our  plain, 
and  no  one  has  received  you.  Come  to  our  village  and  we  will 
listen  to  you."  One  was  a  very  old  man  who  was  fittingly  nick- 
named "  Black-face."  A  second  was  middle-aged  and  had  once 
been  an  actor  on  the  stage.  The  third  was  a  young  man.  On 
arriving  at  their  village  we  sat  on  large  stones  in  front  of  the 
head  man's  house.  We  talked  over  matters  with  some  of  the 
influential  men,  and  partook  of  rice  and  fish.  When  evening 
came  on  a  tent  was  constructed  out  of  poles  and  sails  from 
their  boats  on  the  beach.  Several  stones  were  placed  at  one 
end  and  a  plank  laid  upon  them  for  a  platform.  At  dark  a 
man  took  a  marine  shell  with  the  end  broken  off,  such  as  they 
used  in  days  gone  by  when  setting  out  on  the  war-path,  and 
with  this  "  trumpet "  he  summoned  an  assembly.  Families 
brought  benches  out  of  their  huts  and  arranged  them  in  rows. 


u^ 


218  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

These  preparations  completed,  they  invited  us  to  proceed  with 
our  service.  We  sang,  preached,  conversed,  discussed,  an- 
swered questions,  till  the  small  hours  of  the  morning.  The 
following  day  the  inhabitants  decided  to  have  a  house  in  which 
to  worship  the  true  God.  They  sailed  down  the  coast  into 
savage  country  for  poles,  and  although  they  were  attacked 
and  wounded,  returned  with  their  load.  Bricks  were  made 
out  of  mud  mixed  with  rice-chaff,  moulded  into  shape,  and 
dried  in  the  sun.  We  erected  the  walls,  covered  the  roof  with 
grass,  and  built  a  platform  of  mud.  Then  every  evening,  at 
the  blowing  of  the  "  conch,"  the  whole  village  turned  out. 
They  continued  to  carry  their  old  benches  till  we  procured 
new  ones,  and  there  they  sat  to  be  taught  the  everlasting  gos- 
pel of  our  Redeemer.  In  several  weeks — not  months — boys 
and  girls  learned  many  of  our  psalms  and  hymns,  while  the 
elder  people  acquired  more  or  less  Christian  knowledge. 

After  laboring  there  day  and  night  for  six  or  eight  weeks  I 
came  to  be  much  impressed  by  three  different  classes  who  at- 
tended our  services.  There  w^ere  poor  old  toothless  women, 
wTho  had  wrought  hard  in  the  constant  struggle  for  existence, 
squatted  on  the  bare  earth,  weaving,  and  as  they  threw  the 
thread  they  crooned  in  a  low  voice : 

"  There  is  a  happy  land 
Far,  far  away." 

That  land  was  very  real  to  them — just  as  real  as  to  their  sisters 
in  Christendom — and  they  came  to  look  wistfully  for  the  sign 
that  would  call  them,  not  to  the  grass-thatched  chapel  out  in  the 
narrow  street,  but  away  to  the  temple  not  made  with  hands,  in 
the  land  where  the  weary  rest.  Then  there  were  the  boys,  with 
their  bright  young  faces,  into  whose  lives  our  songs  brought 
something  of  hope ;  and  all  day  long  they  sang  in  their  own 
tongue  our  children's  hymn : 

"  Jesus  loves  me,  this  I  know, 
For  the  Bible  tells  me  so." 


MISS/ON   WORK  AMONG   THE  PE-PO-HOAN        219 

And  not  the  least  attractive  were  the  hardy,  bold,  brave  fisher- 
men going  out  in  the  mornings  through  the  surf,  standing — 
not  sitting — in  their  boats,  and  as  they  pushed  their  long  oars, 
kept  time  to  the  stroke,  singing  the  old  Scotch  paraphrase : 

"  I'm  not  ashamed  to  own  my  Lord, 
Or  to  defend  his  cause." 

It  was  grand.  Standing  away  yonder  on  the  sandy  beach 
looking  at  them  and  listening  to  their  voices,  I  wished  that  it 
were  possible  for  the  critics  of  foreign  mission  work  to  drop 
down  and,  just  for  once,  see  for  themselves  that  the  gospel  of 
Christ  is  still  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one 
that  believeth ;  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Greek." 

Despite  many  weaknesses  and  imperfections  in  these  poor 
aborigines,  quite  a  number  of  that  first  village  remained  con- 
stant to  the  end,  and  have  gone  home  to  God.  The  village 
became  nominally  Christian.  My  apartment  during  those 
weeks  was  a  low,  musty  room,  where  I  slept  on  a  box  at  night. 
To  that  place  the  cast-off  machinery  of  idolatry  was  brought, 
and  more  than  once  I  dried  my  clothes  before  fires  made  of 
idolatrous  paper,  idols,  and  ancestral  tablets.  Three  men  were 
employed  to  carry  other  paraphernalia  of  idol-worship  to  the 
museum  in  Tamsui. 

A  deputation  from  another  village  came  to  make  inquiries. 
I  detained  them,  that  they  might  be  present  at  an  evening 
service.  They  heard  fully  two  hundred  voices  ring  out  the 
praises  of  Almighty  God,  and  they  were  so  charmed  that  they 
at  once  invited  us  to  visit  their  village.  I  do  not  know  what 
others  would  have  done,  but  I  formed  a  procession,  heading 
it  with  A  Hoa  at  my  side,  and  arranging  the  converts  in 
double  column  behind.  We  marched  slowly  along  the  circu- 
itous path,  singing  as  we  went.  At  the  end  of  our  short  jour- 
ney we  drew  up  into  a  compact  body,  and  another  stirring 
song  of  praise  rose  from  our  lips.     With  God's  message  sung 


220  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

and  preached  we  captured  that  village,  and  the  people  decided 
to  have  a  place  of  worship.  Willing  hands  soon  completed  a 
building,  and  a  native  preacher  was  left  in  charge  of  the  work, 
as  another  had  been  in  the  first  village.  We  thus  had  five 
hundred  who  had  thrown  away  their  idols  and  were  nominally 
Christian  ;  and  when  they  all  assembled  in  the  open  air  to  sing 
the  songs  of  Zion  I  forgot  the  dark  night  in  the  rice-field,  the 
cruelty  of  our  first  reception,  and  the  many  weary  hours  at 
night,  among  old  baskets,  ropes,  and  nets  in  a  damp  room,  a 
stranger  and  alone.  Oh,  it  was  soul-inspiring,  refreshing,  glori- 
ous! We  visited  other  villages  and  preached  the  gospel  year 
after  year  to  those  dark-skinned  aborigines.  A  third  chapel 
was  erected,  a  fourth,  fifth,  sixth,  seventh,  eighth,  yes,  even  a 
nineteenth  chapel  in  that  Kap-tsu-lan  plain,  and  over  each  a 
native  preacher  was  placed. 

The  most  southerly  village  in  the  plain  is  Lam-hong-o 
("  South- wind  Harbor  "),  on  the  south  side  of  So  Bay.  It  was 
visited  on  a  previous  occasion,  but  we  were  scorned  and  our 
message  rejected.  We  resolved  to  revisit  it.  It  was  nearly 
dark  when  we  climbed  the  steep  mountain  near  the  sea,  and 
had  yet  to  descend  on  the  other  side.  Holding  on  to  the 
rocks  with  our  hands,  we  slid  down  in  safety  and  then  followed 
a  long  bend  inward.  When  we  reached  the  village  the  rain 
was  descending  in  torrents.  Approaching  a  house,  I  asked  if 
we  could  remain  overnight.  "  No  room  for  barbarians,"  was 
the  curt  reply.  We  went  to  a  second  house  and  received  a 
similar  rebuff.  The  door  of  the  third  was  slammed  in  my  face. 
It  was  hopeless.  The  night  was  so  dark  and  the  Pacific  Ocean 
so  tempestuous  that  we  could  not  go  east ;  mountains  stood 
to  the  south ;  on  the  north  was  the  harbor,  and  on  the  west 
savage  territory.  We  thought  of  one  Chinese  family  in  the 
corner  back  of  the  village,  and  hoped  for  better  things  than 
from  the  Pe-po-hoan.  We  set  out,  making  our  way  now  over 
seaweed,  now  thumping  against  a  boat,  and  now  caught  by 


MISSION   WORK  AMONG   THE  PE-PO-HOAN        221 

the  prickly  screw-pine.  When  we  reached  the  door  I  called 
out,  "  Can  we  get  any  accommodation  here  for  the  night?  " 
A  white-haired  man  slowly  opened  the  door  and  drawled  out, 
"  No  room  here  for  barbarians,"  and  slowly  closed  the  door. 
We  stood  there  in  the  dark  and  rain,  not  knowing  what  to  do. 
Then  the  door  opened  again  and  the  old  head  reappeared. 
Man's  better  nature  triumphed,  and  it  was  with  gratitude  we 
heard  the  Chinese  drawl  once  more :  "  It  is  very  stormy.  You 
can  go  into  the  ox-stable  if  you  like."  I  see  it  still,  there  on 
the  left,  with  its  bars  across  like  an  old-fashioned  farm  gate. 
We  crawled  through.  The  old  man  held  a  light  until  we  could 
see  the  one  empty  stall,  and  then  all  was  dark.  We  secured 
rice-straw  and  prepared  to  spend  the  night  with  the  water- 
buffaloes.  In  about  half  an  hour  a  dim  light  appeared  at  the 
door,  and  there  stood  the  Chinese  with  a  bowl  of  warm  rice 
for  each  on  a  tray.  And  what  was  strangest  of  all  was  his 
refusal  to  accept  cash  for  either  the  lodgings  or  the  rice.  We 
had  with  us  Ko  Chin,  an  elder,  who,  though  born  in  Formosa, 
had  never  spent  a  night  in  an  ox-stable  before.  He  told  me 
afterward  that  the  thought  that  I  was  so  far  from  my  native 
land,  and  in  such  a  place,  exercised  him  greatly.  It  made 
that  night  memorable  in  his  life,  for,  though  he  was  a  good 
Christian  before,  he  was  more  determined,  more  devoted,  more 
self-sacrificing  ever  after. 

On  the  morning  after  the  night  in  the  ox-stable  we  went  up 
the  mountain  to  the  site  of  a  Pe-po-hoan  village  called  Kau- 
kau-a.  There  oranges  now  grow,  and  peaches,  pumelos,  per- 
simmons, plums,  and  bread-fruit.  It  is  almost  within  savage 
territory,  and  the  savages  had  been  friendly  until  some  of  the 
villagers  gave  them  dog's  flesh  for  venison.  When  the  truth 
came  to  be  known  the  savages  swore  vengeance  and  began 
hostilities.  The  Kau-kau-a  people  had  to  leave  the  place.  They 
moved  three  miles  north  to  So  Bay.  There  many  died  of 
malarial  and  other  forms  of  fever.    Those  who  survived  chose 


222  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

another  site  and  founded  the  village  of  Lam-hong-o.  There 
are  now  eleven  families  descended  from  the  Kau-kau-a  vil- 
lagers. Fifty  years  have  elapsed  since  the  feud  began,  but 
no  reconciliation  has  ever  been  effected,  and  the  savages  are 
still  their  sworn  enemies. 

A  chapel  was  in  due  time  erected  at  Lam-hong-o,  and, 
despite  my  protestation,  was  named  "  MacKay  Church,"  in 
memory  of  my  father.  Many  evenings,  when  I  was  address- 
ing them,  bitter,  burning  tears  rolled  down  their  cheeks  as  they 
thought  of  the  cold-hearted  manner  in  which  they  received  us 
at  first.  The  chapel  came  to  be  a  place  of  safety  as  well  as 
of  worship.  Many  nights  the  women  and  children,  for  fear  of 
the  savages,  slept  on  the  tiled  floor,  while  their  husbands  and 
fathers  were  out  on  the  sea  in  their  fishing-smacks.  The 
savages  were  very  artful  and  daring.  Sometimes  they  would 
make  marks  in  the  sand  in  imitation  of  turtle  tracks,  so  that 
when  any  villager  went  hunting  the  turtles  they  would  spring 
from  their  ambush  and  run  him  through  with  their  long  lances. 
One  evening,  on  going  toward  the  gate,  I  heard  in  the  hedge 
a  whistling  noise.  Hastily  stepping  back,  I  learned  that  a 
dozen  savages  were  outside ;  but  my  sudden  movement  made 
them  think  they  were  discovered,  and  so  they  decamped. 

In  1884,  at  one  village  near  the  sea  where  we  had  a  teacher, 
but  as  yet  no  chapel,  the  people  had  to  guard  their  families 
nightly  with  loaded  guns.  On  the  occasion  of  one  of  our  vis- 
its the  savages  were  out  on  a  head-hunting  expedition,  and 
the  converts,  men,  women,  and  children,  sat  up  till  daybreak, 
and  at  intervals  made  the  hills  ring  with  our  sweet  hymns,  sung 
to  their  wild  mountain  airs.  The  savages  prowled  around  and 
occasionally  threw  stones  and  other  missiles.  While  there  I 
cut  out  of  a  man's  thigh  an  iron  arrow-head  that  had  been 
shot  from  the  bow  of  a  savage.  It  was  embedded  nearly  five 
inches  in  the  flesh,  and  as  it  had  been  there  for  four  months  it 
was  an  ugly  sight.     The  poor  fellow  sat  day  after  day  watch- 


MISSION   WORK  AMONG    THE   PE-PO-HOAN        223 

ing  it  slowly  corrupting,  and  suffering  increasing  pain.  I  had 
surgical  instruments  with  me,  and,  after  two  hours,  succeeded 
in  performing  the  operation.  When  the  arrow-head  was  re- 
moved and  laid  on  the  man's  hand  his  gratitude  knew  no 
bounds.  He  was  at  that  time  a  heathen,  but  he  listened  to 
the  message  of  a  Saviour  who  "  healeth  all  our  diseases,  and 
bindeth  up  our  wounds,"  and  it  was  delightful  in  after-years 
to  hear  him  tell  the  heathen  around  how  he  was  led  to  forsake 
idolatry  and  worship  the  living  and  true  God. 

Sin-sia  is  a  Pe-po-hoan  village  with  quite  a  percentage  of 
Chinese.  On  the  bank  of  a  clear  mountain  stream  stands  our 
chapel,  called  "  Burns's  Church."  Beautiful  is  the  situation, 
and  the  structure  is  worthy  of  the  site.  It  is  built  of  stone, 
plastered,  and  well  lighted  with  glass  windows.  I  drew  the 
plans,  but  the  construction  was  superintended  by  a  native 
preacher,  Tan  He.  It  is  extremely  difficult  to  get  a  building 
erected  in  Formosa  for  the  sum  specified  in  the  contract ;  but 
so  shrewdly  did  Tan  He  do  his  work  that  there  were  no  ex- 
tras. The  splendid  donation  from  Mrs.  MacKay,  of  Detroit, 
sufficed  to  complete  the  building  in  memory  of  one  of  the 
world's  greatest  evangelists  and  missionaries.  The  preacher 
is  Pe-po-hoan,  and  both  aborigines  and  Chinese  meet  for  the 
worship  of  the  God  of  all  the  earth. 

Nearly  south  of  Tai-tun  Mountain,  and  nestling  at  its  base, 
is  Pak-tau,  a  Pe-po-hoan  village,  with  upward  of  a  hundred 
aborigines  in  the  homesteads  around.  It  is  two  hours'  brisk 
walk  from  Tamsui,  three  from  Bang-kah,  and  four  from  Sek- 
khau.  We  secured  a  place  of  worship  there  in  1 89 1 .  Sulphur- 
springs  hiss  and  roar  in  the  vicinity,  and  a  warm  medicinal 
stream  runs  within  five  minutes'  walk  from  our  chapel.  I  had 
in  view  the  establishing  of  a  church  there  fully  fifteen  years 
ago,  for  we  knew  something  of  the  value  of  the  springs. 
Scabies  can  be  completely  cured  by  bathing  in  these  waters ; 
and  tinea,  in  various  forms,  can  be  so  far  removed  that  other 


224  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

medicines   eradicate   the    fungi   or   bacilli   with   greater    effi- 
ciency. 

In  conducting  a  mission  few  things  require  more  attention 
than  the  placing  of  the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  Who, 
then,  should  be  sent  to  Pak-tau?  Why,  an  able,  earnest  Chi- 
nese preacher  whose  wife  was  a  Pe-po-hoan,  whom  we  brought 
up  from  childhood,  and  who  received  careful  Christian  instruc- 
tion. Success  attended  the  young  preacher's  mission  work. 
One  Sabbath,  my  wife,  three  children,  women  from  the  Girls' 
School,  and  students  from  the  college  attended  service  at  Pak- 
tau.  They  found  the  building  literally  packed,  and  scores  in 
the  branches  of  a  tree  where  they  could  both  see  and  hear. 
It  was  a  great  day,  and  the  speakers  were  carefully  selected. 
First  came  one  who  had  been  a  Tauist  priest,  because  many 
of  his  old  associates  were  present ;  then  a  Pe-po-hoan  from  the 
east  coast  and  another  from  one  of  our  southern  stations,  be- 
cause their  relatives  were  among  the  hearers  ;  then  four  Pe-po- 
hoan  women  whose  homes  were  in  Kap-tsu-lan  rose  and  sang 
"  Jesus  loves  me,"  because  their  Malayan  sisters  were  sitting 
near  by  ;  six  Chinese  Bible-women  sang  another  hymn,  because 
Mongolians  were  listening.  Such  a  variety  made  the  services 
both  interesting  and  profitable.  Each  hearer  got  a  suitable 
portion  of  the  bread  of  life.  I  addressed  them  on  Joshua 
xxiv.  15:  "Choose  you  this  day  whom  ye  will  serve,"  and 
called  on  them  to  decide  for  or  against  the  world's  mighty 
Redeemer.  A  few  weeks  afterward  ten  young  Pe-po-hoan 
women  who  became  interested  in  the  way  of  salvation  went 
out  to  Tamsui  to  see  the  Girls'  School,  Oxford  College,  and 
the  museum.  Agreeable  and  intelligent,  they  showed  a  lively 
interest  in  all  that  they  saw.  The  work  at  Pak-tau  goes  on 
prosperously. 

Touring  in  the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain  is  full  of  interest,  but  one 
trip  is  much  like  another.  Variety  is  sometimes  given  by  the 
company  of  some  European  traveler  or  scientist.     In  1888, 


MISSION   WORK  AMONG    THE  PE-PO-HO/tN        225 

Dr.  Warburg,  from  Hamburg,  Germany,  joined  us  at  Kelung 
for  a  tour.  Pie  was  a  young  naturalist  collecting  specimens 
for  his  college,  and  he  procured  many  plants  and  flowers,  and 
many  relics  and  weapons  belonging  to  the  aborigines.  He 
had  an  open  eye  for  mission  work,  and  was  greatly  interested 
when  more  than  three  hundred  assembled  for  worship.  As 
we  marched  inward  to  newly  reclaimed  valleys,  upward  of 
thirty  tattooed  savages  from  the  mountains  presented  them- 
selves and  were  photographed.  At  one  aboriginal  village,  near 
a  mountain-spur,  fully  five  hundred  of  our  converts  met,  and 
we  had  a  glorious  gathering.  When  we  were  parting  the 
doctor  said : 

"  I  have  seen  sixteen  chapels,  and  people  in  them  worship- 
ing God.  I  have  also  seen  native  preachers  standing  on  plat- 
forms preaching  the  truths  of  Christianity.  I  never  saw  any- 
thing like  it  before.  If  people  in  Hamburg  saw  what  I  have 
seen  they  would  contribute  for  foreign  missions.  If  scientific 
skeptics  had  traveled  with  a  missionary  as  I  have,  and  wit- 
nessed what  I  have  witnessed  on  this  plain,  they  would  assume 
a  different  attitude  toward  the  heralds  of  the  cross." 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

A    TRIP    DOWN    THE    EAST    COAST 

Setting  out — Eager  for  a  chapel — Ordinances  and  sacraments — Afloat — 
Beauties  of  the  ocean — In  sight  of  savages — In  Ki-lai — The  cook- 
preacher — Burning  the  idols — Five  hundred — A  perilous  pull — A 
sample  program — Edification — Glengarry  Chapel — In  a  new  plain — 
Home  again 

ON  August  27,  1890,  at  8  a.m.,  I  set  out  from  Tamsui,  with 
Tan  He,  Sun-a,  and  Koa  Kau,  on  a  trip  far  down  the 
east  coast  of  Formosa.  The  reason  for  never  traveling  with- 
out several  students  or  preachers  is  that  they  may  become 
practically  acquainted  with  all  departments  of  mission  work, 
efficient  in  service,  and  prepared  for  all  emergencies.  The 
work  is  divided,  and  each  has  his  allotted  task.  Our  purpose 
on  this  trip  was  to  visit  chapels  in  the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain,  and 
to  go  farther  south  to  another  plain,  where  a  number  of  Pe-po- 
hoan  families  have  settled.  That  south  district  is  the  Ki-lai 
plain,  and  is  the  home  of  about  four  thousand  semi-civilized 
aborigines  called  Lam-si-hoan.  Of  life  among  that  people  we 
will  speak  in  another  chapter.  In  this  attention  will  be  directed 
to  the  Pe-po-hoan  villages. 

We  took  a  steam-launch  up  the  river  to  Bang-kali,  railway- 
train  to  Tsui-tng-kha,  and  walked  the  rest  of  the  distance  to 
Kelung.  Sun-a,  who  is  a  most  dexterous  tooth-extractor, 
practised  his  profession  on  a  number  of  patients  by  the  way. 
At  Kelung  a  service  was  held.  Next  morning  we  passed 
Ki-a-liau,  with  Chhim-o  Mountain  rising   twenty-eight    hun- 

226 


A    TRIP   DOWN    THE  HAST  COAST  227 

dred  feet  high,  and  extending  its  base,  rough  with  recently 
fallen  boulders,  to  the  water's  edge.  Traveling  was  very  dan- 
gerous, owing  to  the  loosened  rocks  overhead  and  the  wet  and 
slippery  stones  beneath.  Once  I  disturbed  a  mass  by  leaping 
over  a  chasm,  and  it  came  tumbling  down  at  my  heels.  To- 
ward evening  we  turned  a  point  and  were  in  full  view  of  Lam- 
a-lin,  a  fishing- village  with  thirty  or  forty  families.  Lim  Kau 
Pau,  the  head  man  and  owner  of  the  entire  range  of  hills 
around,  came  out  to  welcome  us.  There  was  no  chapel  there, 
but  we  sang  and  preached.  In  the  morning  Mr.  Lim  took  us 
over  his  estate,  and,  pointing  to  one  place  here  and  another 
there,  he  would  say,  "  That  would  be  a  nice  site  for  a  chapel." 
It  meant  something  for  that  Chinese  landowner  to  make  such 
an  offer,  for  he  knew  what  a  chapel  meant.  He  knew  that 
idols  and  tablets  would  be  cast  away.  When  we  were  leaving 
the  village  he  ordered  out  two  boats  to  carry  us  down  the 
coast  past  a  difficult  and  dangerous  promontory.  On  return- 
ing from  this  trip,  as  we  neared  his  homestead,  his  servants 
came  out  yelling,  running,  and  beckoning  to  us,  followed  by 
his  son,  who  begged  us  to  remain  overnight.  We  could  not 
wait,  but  that  evening  the  son  and  the  servants  followed  us  to 
the  Teng-siang-khoe  chapel.  Is  there  not  an  "  open  door  "  at 
Lam-a-lin? 

That  day  at  Phi-thau  the  villagers  pleaded  for  a  chapel. 
Before  leaving,  medicines  were  dispensed,  teeth  extracted,  and 
then  the  gospel  was  preached  to  a  large  crowd.  Off  again 
through  bamboo-groves,  across  "  the  point "  to  Na-tang.  We 
reached  "  Burns's  Church,"  Sin-sia,  about  dark,  and  spent  an 
hour  singing,  speaking,  and  examining  inquirers.  The  next 
day  being  the  Sabbath,  we  held  three  evangelistic  services,  had  a 
Sabbath-school,  and  dispensed  the  Lord's  Supper.  Another 
day's  tiamp  brought  us  to  Ta-ma-ien,  a  Pe-po-hoan  village, 
where  thirty-nine  communed,  four  infants  were  baptized,  and 
an  elder  and  deacon  were  ordained. 


228  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

A  river-boat  took  us  near  Hoan-sia-thau  on  Tuesday,  Sep- 
tember 2,  1890,  at  10  a.m.  Beating  of  the  drum  brought  men 
from  their  nets,  women  from  their  looms,  and  children  from 
their  play.  At  once  we  attended  to  the  suffering,  examined 
inquirers,  listened  to  recitations,  ordained  two  office-bearers, 
addressed  hearers,  and  administered  the  sacrament  to  forty-one 
communicants.  After  dinner  we  crossed  a  narrow  strip  of 
sand  to  the  sea  and  entered  a  fishing-boat  with  eight  rowers. 
They  pulled  with  great  energy,  and  by  sundown  entered  the 
mouth  of  a  mountain  stream,  then  rowed  on  the  fresh  water  till 
8  p.m.,  when  we  landed  at  the  Lau-lau-a  chapel.  Services  soon 
began,  and  at  the  close  a  young  couple  stood  up,  attended  by 
two  others,  and  by  the  ceremony  of  Christian  marriage  were 
made  husband  and  wife.  This  event  was  unexpected,  for  the 
bride  arrived  only  an  hour  before  from  another  Pe-po-hoan  vil- 
lage. At  daybreak  a  fishing- outfit  was  engaged.  We  put  out 
in  the  face  of  a  heavy  sea  and  brisk  gale.  We  were  tossed 
about  all  day,  and  could  not  enter  So  Bay  harbor  till  4  p.m. 
Once  there «no  time  was  lost  in  addressing  our  people  at  Lam- 
hong-o  church,  and  in  securing  a  boat  suitable  for  our  trip 
beyond.  The  only  available  one  was  about  twelve  feet  long 
and  quite  open.  This  little  craft  we  manned  with  six  Pe-po- 
hoan  rowers,  all  Christians,  and  pushed  away  at  5  p.m.,  sing- 
ing a  hymn,  while  preacher  and  converts  stood  on  the  shore 
waving  us  God-speed. 

Once  round  the  point,  away  down  the  coast  the  rowers 
pulled,  hugging  the  shore.  Night  came  on,  but  no  one  thought 
of  sleep.  Each  selected  a  spot  in  which  to  sit  or  crouch,  and 
be  out  of  the  rowers'  way.  I  sat  in  the  stern  beside  the  helms- 
man— a  good  position  for  surveying  the  scene.  It  is  grand 
at  any  time,  but  that  night  it  was  sublime.  Long  and  high 
ranges  of  forest-clad  mountains  stood  like  dark  perpendicular 
walls  on  the  right.  On  the  left  lay  a  broad  and  boundless 
expanse  of  water.     Stars  were  twinkling   brilliantly  above; 


A    TRIP  DOWN   THE  EAST  COAST  229 

Medusa^  NereidcBj  and  Infusoria,  children  of  the  ocean,  were 
blazing  below.  I  have  seen  many  wonderful  sights  in  the 
steamer's  track  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal  and  the  Arabian  Sea, 
but  never  before  witnessed  anything  comparable  to  the  phos- 
phorescent glory  of  that  night.  Sitting  low  in  the  boat,  on  a 
level  with  the  surface,  I  scooped  out  handfuls  of  jelly-like 
globules,  my  fingers  like  so  many  rods  of  red-hot  iron,  drop- 
ping balls  of  molten  fire.  Countless  millions  of  Noctiluca 
miliaris  rose  to  the  surface  with  lightning  speed,  then  darted 
hither  and  thither,  like  sparks  from  a  blacksmith's  anvil.  Oars 
scattered  jets  of  light  at  very  stroke,  and  our  little  craft  seemed 
gliding  on  a  glittering  surface  and  through  flames  of  amber 
and  gold. 

"  Within  the  shadow  of  the  ship 
I  watched  their  rich  attire — 

Blue,  glossy  green,  and  velvet  black  ; 

They  coiled  and  swam,  and  every  track 
Was  a  flash  of  golden  fire." 

Now  and  then  westerly  winds  blew  between  long  ranges 
and  filled  our  little  sail.  By  dawn  we  were  close  fo  the  shore, 
where  stretches  a  long  level  piece  of  ground.  Savages  were 
at  the  beach,  and  their  houses  could  be  seen  a  short  distance 
up  the  mountain-side.  Our  boat  was  quickly  headed  seaward. 
I  recognized  the  place  at  once — the  "spur,"  the  creek,  the 
rocks.  It  was  the  spot  where,  on  June  4,  1876,  H.  B.  M. 
man-of-war  "Lapwing"  dropped  anchor  on  the  rough  sea, 
while  her  commander,  chief  officer,  and  myself  got  into  one 
of  her  lifeboats,  manned  by  six  "blue-jackets,"  without  any 
weapon  of  defense,  and  were  rowed  toward  the  shore.  Sev- 
eral hundred  savages  came  down  the  spur  of  the  mountain 
and  watched  us.  Our  boat  tried  hard  to  land,  but  the  surf 
was  against  us.  We  hailed,  beckoned,  and  threw  several  shin- 
ing silver  dollars  toward  them.  They  were  naked  and  vicious- 
looking,  but  no  one  dreamed  of  danger — only  to  land  and  see 


230  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

them.  The  surf  saved  us.  Had  we  succeeded  iu  landing  no 
one  would  have  returned.  Many  an  unsuspecting  explorer 
has  been  murdered  there  by  that  tribe.  God  holds  the  winds 
and  the  waves  in  his  hand,  and  was  behind  the  surf  that  day. 

We  pulled  away,  and  at  noon,  under  the  scorching  sun, 
thermometer  120  in  the  open  boat,  we  drew  up  at  Hoe-lien- 
kang,  a  trading-post  at  the  sea  in  the  Ki-lai  plain.  This  is 
the  plain  I  longed  to  visit  during  the  past,  where  Kap-tsu-lan 
people  moved,  and  where  a  cook  from  Oxford  College  went 
of  his  own  accord,  and  began  to  teach  and  preach  to  the 
Pe-po-hoan.  Hoe-lien-kang  lies  on  a  sea-washed  sand-bank, 
and  has  two  rows  of  thatched  houses,  with  a  street  two  hun- 
dred feet  wide.  Its  inhabitants  are  mostly  Chinese,  writh  a  few 
Pe-po-hoan  families  in  the  outskirts,  engaged  in  trade  with  the 
aborigines.  Close  at  hand  is  an  encampment  of  Chinese  sol- 
diers under  a  military  official. 

Our  boat  was  no  sooner  hauled  on  the  pebbly  beach  than  a 
Chinese  officer,  the  head  man,  sent  an  invitation  to  have  dinner 
with  him,  and  showed  us  other  attentions.  I  was  surprised  to 
hear  my  name  on  every  hand.  We  were  never  there  before, 
but  some  of  them  knew  about  our  work  in  the  north.  Our 
new  friend  ordered  his  hostler  to  saddle  a  pony,  and  of  course 
put  on  the  string  of  bells.  Thus  the  unexpected  did  happen, 
for  I  rode  a  fine,  plump,  if  not  fiery  steed,  preceded  by  a  groom. 
About  dark  we  entered  Ka-le-oan,  the  Pe-po-hoan  settlement  I 
longed  to  visit  for  upward  of  a  dozen  years.  We  found  the 
cook  who  turned  out  preacher  in  a  small  grass-covered  bam- 
boo dwelling  that  had  been  erected  for  him.  As  they  had 
been  writing  and  waiting  for  us  a  long  time,  the  warmth  of 
their  welcome  can  hardly  be  imagined.  The  room  was  soon 
packed  and  a  large  crowd  stood  in  front  of  the  door.  Instead 
of  continued  preaching,  we  tried  to  grasp  the  state  of  affairs. 
Really  good  work  had  been  done  by  the  cook-preacher.  Not 
a   few  had  a   clear  idea  of  the  gospel  message,  while  many 


A   TRIP  DOWN   THE  EAST  COAST  231 

more  were  evidently  weary  of  idol-worship.  They  seemed  ripe 
for  decisive  action.  Being  told  that  the  military  mandarin 
declared  that  they  must  continue  idolatry  as  being  a  token  of 
subjection  to  China,  I  rode  up  to  the  encampment,  had  an 
interview,  and  got  a  gracious  reception.  Whatever  was  said 
or  done  in  the  past,  it  was  all  right  now.  Soldiers  began  to 
praise  our  mission  :  one  had  got  medicine  from  me  at  Tamsui, 
one  from  a  preacher  at  Kelung,  and  another  knew  the  Bang- 
kah  preacher.  Yamen  men  joined,  praising  the  men,  the 
museum,  etc.  There  was  only  one  opinion,  and  the  officer 
wished  me  "peace."  I  galloped  back,  and  asked  all  who  were 
for  the  true  God  to  clean  their  houses  of  idols  and  take  a  de- 
cided stand.  A  council  was  held  at  dark  in  an  open  space ; 
it  turned  out  to  be  a  noisy  and  boisterous  meeting.  The 
chiefs  were  declaiming  aloud  in  their  native  tongue.  I  stepped 
among  them  and  asked  an  explanation,  and  if  there  were  differ- 
ence of  opinion.  An  answer  came  quickly.  The  five  villages 
were  unanimous  to  a  man.  They  wanted  to  worship  the 
Jehovah-God.  They  went  further.  An  idol-temple  built  for 
themselves  at  a  cost  of  two  thousand  dollars  was  handed  over 
for  chapel  services.  The  following  was  a  joyous  day.  No 
one  went  to  work.  The  head  man  invited  our  party  to  join 
him,  and  ordered  four  boys  to  follow,  carrying  eight  baskets, 
one  on  either  end  of  a  pole.  We  then  went  from  house  to 
house  and  from  village  to  village,  until  the  idolatrous  para- 
phernalia of  all  were  collected  into  the  baskets  and  carried 
to  a  yard  near  the  temple.  There  was  a  large  pile  of  mock- 
money,  idols,  tablets,  incense-sticks,  and  flags.  A  great  crowd 
assembled,  and  several  vied  with  one  another  in  firing  the 
heap.  Many  showed  their  contempt  for  the  dirty,  dusty, 
greasy  old  idols.  One  chief  took  special  delight  in  poking 
the  burning  objects  of  worship,  while  roars  of  derisive  laugh- 
ter followed  the  pulling  out  and  holding  up  of  a  blazing 
"  goddess  of  mercy."     The  temple  was  lighted  up  long  before 


232  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

dark,  and  the  people  crowded  in.  I  called  on  all  to  join  in 
singing : 

' '  All  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell, 
Sing  to  the  Lord  with  cheerful  voice." 

Precision  of  attack  may  have  been  wanting,  some  voices  may 
have  been  off  the  key  and  out  of  tune,  but  they  sang  with 
heart  and  soul,  and  never  was  the  old  Hundredth  Psalm  more 
fittingly  sung  than  on  that  night  when  it  signalized  the  conse- 
cration of  an  idol-temple  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  the  eternal 
God. 

Ka-le-oan  is  the  name  given  to  the  settlement,  no  doubt 
after  one  of  the  same  name  in  Kap-tsu-lan,  whence  most  of 
the  people  hail.  There  are  five  villages  :  Toa-sia,  which  means 
"  large  village,"  where  the  church  now  stands ;  Tek-a-na,  Bu- 
loan,  Ian-ko,  and  Chhit-kiet — in  all  about  five  hundred.  This 
is  the  entry  in  the  record  of  our  trip  to  that  settlement : 

"  Nearly  five  hundred  idolaters  cleaned  their  houses  of  idols 
in  our  presence. 

"They  declared  themselves  anxious  to  worship  the  Lord 
and  Redeemer. 

"  They  gave  a  temple  built  for  idols  as  a  house  in  which 
to  meet  and  worship  the  only  living  and  true  God.  Are 
missions  a  failure?  " 

For  an  entire  week  the  pony  and  groom  were  at  my  dis- 
posal, without  charge,  and  I  went  this  way  and  that  through 
the  Ki-lai  plain,  preaching,  dispensing,  tooth-extracting,  and 
studying  the  rude  life  and  manners  of  the  Lam-si-hoan.  On 
Wednesday,  September  ioth,  we  made  ready  to  return  north- 
ward. We  gave  medicines  in  the  military  encampment,  by 
permission  of  the  official.  The  mandarin  himself  threw  off  all 
mandarin  ceremony,  and  talked,  laughed,  handled  the  forceps, 
and  had  his  teeth  examined.  He  even  stood  at  our  backs  to 
see  us  attending  to  the  sick  and  suffering  among  the  soldiers. 


A    TRIP  DOWN   THE  EAST  COAST  233 

There  were  not  a  few  malaria  patients  among  them,  and  1  am 
quite  sure  we  left  the  soldiers  and  their  general  all  wishing  for 
our  speedy  return. 

A  crowd  followed  us  to  the  seaside  and  shoved  our  craft 
afloat.  The  rowers  had  to  pull  hard  against  a  northeaster. 
At  dark  we  were  skirting  the  shore  near  the  steep  mountains. 
Here  and  there,  like  flaming  beacons  along  the  shore,  the 
night  fires  of  savages  burned  holes  in  the  darkness  of  tangled 
foliage  and  forest.  All  night  long  the  rowers  struggled  against 
wind  and  wave,  afraid  to  go  too  near  the  shore,  for  the  rocks 
were  sharp  and  the  savages  cruel ;  afraid  to  launch  out  into 
the  deep,  for  our  craft  was  light  and  the  sea  was  wild.  Morn- 
ing came,  and,  drenched  and  weary,  we  were  still  amid  white 
billows.  All  that  day  we  pulled  almost  in  vain,  thankful  that 
we  were  not  dashed  on  the  rocky  ledges.  No  one  had  tasted 
food  since  the  previous  morning,  for  though  we  had  a  supply 
of  rice  we  could  not  land  to  have  it  cooked.  The  weary 
rowers  were  fast  becoming  weak.  Eyes  brightened  when  at 
3  p.m.  we  turned  a  point  and  ran  into  a  basin  three  hundred  feet 
wide,  one  hundred  feet  deep,  with  fifty  feet  of  a  pebbly  beach, 
and  a  perpendicular  wall  several  hundred  feet  high  standing 
at  the  back  and  sides.  There  was  a  veritable  security  from 
storms  and  savages.  A  sweet  spring  of  water  tumbled  over 
the  high  cliff  above,  forming  a  stream  of  fresh  water,  which 
ran  into  the  bitter  sea.  Rice  was  cooked  in  the  water-jar  I 
was  carrying  back  as  a  sample  of  Lam-si-hoan  pottery,  and 
with  a  condiment  of  salted  venison  it  was  a  delicious  meal. 
By  7  p.m.  the  sea  calmed  somewhat,  and  we  struck  out  again. 
Toward  cock-crowing  So  Bay  was  entered,  and  a  breath  car- 
ried us  to  Lam-hong-o.  Soon  preacher  and  people  were  astir, 
and  all  day  was  spent  in  the  chapel.  Children  were  examined, 
three  were  baptized,  and  sixty-five  sat  down  around  the  Lord's 
table.  By  sea-boat  we  ran  to  Ka-le-oan,  there  gave  medicines 
to  the  sick,  inquired  after  membeis,  arranged  matters  with 


234  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

elders  and  deacons,  and  walked  over  to  Lau-lau-a,  where  simi- 
lar work  was  done  and  the  night  spent. 

Leaving  Lau-lau-a,  we  visited  every  station  in  the  Kap-tsu- 
lan  plain,  spent  a  night  at  each  of  the  twenty  chapels,  and 
inspected  work  at  six  other  points.  We  never  traveled  there 
before  as  on  this  occasion.  Taking  a  river-boat,  we  rowed, 
where  practicable,  to  each  locality.  Thus  I  had  a  fair  chance 
of  making  a  pretty  accurate  map.  The  streams  rush  rapidly 
near  the  mountains,  but  run  sluggishly  enough  in  the  level 
plain.  At  many  points  they  are  so  narrow  that  the  boat  had 
to  be  pushed  along  with  two  bamboo  poles.  On  these  narrow 
dark  streams,  with  trees  and  bushes  overhanging  and  meeting, 
charming  spots  could  be  seen  through  the  foliage,  and  the 
sun  shone  at  intervals  through  the  clouds  floating  overhead. 

Arriving  at  and  leaving  a  Pe-po-hoan  village  was  simply  soul- 
inspiring.  As  our  party  would  start  a  hymn,  a  crowd  of  men, 
women,  and  children  would  join  and  make  the  banks  resound 
with  joyful  notes.  I  always  enjoy  this  a  thousand  times  more 
than  singing  in  a  chapel.  It  is  so  grand,  so  free  from  for- 
mality, thus  to  praise  our  God  on  the  flowing  water,  among  the 
trees,  and  within  hearing  of  the  birds  he  makes  to  sing.  It 
would  be  wearisome  to  the  reader  to  give  the  names  of  so 
many  strange  places  and  state  what  was  done  at  each ;  but  a 
sample  of  our  program  may  be  of  interest. 

i.  On  arrival  we  visited  the  sick  in  their  homes ;  then,  taking 
our  stand  outside  in  an  open  space,  we  gave  medicines  and 
extracted  teeth.  The  filthy  betel-nut  gives  tooth-extracting 
prominence.  The  four  of  us  worked,  but  each  patient  passed 
through  my  hands  for  diagnosis. 

2.  We  wrote  the  names  of  all  the  families,  with  their  worldly 
possessions,  in  a  book.  This  was  necessary  on  account  of  re- 
movals to  new  settlements.  I  think  we  know  the  circumstances 
of  every  family,  and  what  the  stations  are  able  to  do  toward 
self-support. 


A    TRIP  DOWN    THE  EAST  COAST  235 

3.  We  held  meetings  with  the  elders  and  deacons  concerning 
contributions,  chapel  repairs,  Sabbath  attendance,  etc.  Here 
is  progress.  Every  chapel  in  the  plain  was  either  re-roofed, 
plastered,  and  otherwise  repaired,  or  materials  were  on  the 
ground ;  and  only  in  one  village  did  an  elder  ask  for  assistance. 

4.  Children,  young  men  and  women,  were  examined  in  pres- 
ence of  all  on  subjects  previously  assigned,  and  other  subjects 
to  be  studied  were  selected. 

5.  Singing  practised  for  an  hour  by  the  people  in  divisions, 
such  as  old  men,  women,  young  men,  girls,  and  children. 

6.  We  preached  in  turn,  short  addresses  being  most  profit- 
able, and  I  immediately  questioned  them  on  what  was  spoken. 

7.  Office-bearers  elected  by  the  congregations,  and  I  or- 
dained them. 

8.  Baptized  infants  and  adults,  though  the  reception  of 
many  adults  was  delayed  for  further  instruction. 

9.  Observed  the  Lord's  Supper,  having  not  a  few  refreshing 
communions. 

The  above  labor  was  accomplished,  and  much  more.  The 
effect 'at  every  station  was  marked.  Converts  were  stirred 
up,  and  the  contrast  in  their  condition  and  demeanor  on  our 
arrival  and  at  our  departure  was  very  marked,  especially  where 
we  remained  overnight  and  had  opportunity  for  meetings, 
afternoon,  evening,  and  morning.  There  is  a  world  of  mean- 
ing in  the  words  "edification,"  "building  up,"  "grow  up  into 
Him  in  all  things,"  "for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints."  I  have 
stated  that  at  one  place  nearly  five  hundred  cast  their  idols 
away.  Some  good  people  may  think  the  work  among  them 
was  about  done  then.  If  I  know  anything  about  it,  if  twenty- 
three  years'  experience  be  of  value,  then  I  should  say  the  work 
was  only  begun.  Paul  knows  best,  and  says  they  must  be 
built  up.  I  do  not  believe  in  perfection  on  this  side  of  the 
"river,"  but  such  converts  as  we  have  in  Formosa,  like  some 
we  have  in  America,  are  a  long  way  from  what  is  attainable 


236  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

here.  Many  things  are  needed  in  leading  them  on.  One 
thing  before  all  things  else  is  needful,  viz.,  patl'pnrp     ^.^mm 

One  of  the  churches  visited  was  "  Glengarry  Chapel,"  at 
Tang-mng-thau,  where  a  spreading  gourd  served  as  a  dispens- 
ing-room. At  the  service  all  were  orderly  and  reverent.  We 
sang  many  hymns,  and  I  told  them  about  Glengarry  in  Can- 
ada, and  the  kind  young  friends  there  who  raised  the  money 
for  the  building  of  that  chapel.  They  were  greatly  interested, 
and  the  thought  that  people  at  home  would  deny  themselves 
for  poor  heathen  in  far  Formosa  was  not  without  its  influence. 

Leaving  Kap-tsu-lan,  we  entered  the  plain  of  Toa-o,  which 
is  a  triangular  extension  running  far  inland  from  Kap-tsu-lan, 
flanked  on  two  sides  by  high,  steep,  densely  wooded  moun- 
tains. It  is  new  ground,  only  now  being  reclaimed  from  the 
jungle.  The  reeds  are  cut  with  knives,  then  the  whole  set  on 
fire,  large  hoes  dig  the  roots,  farmers  sow  or  plant  their  grain, 
and  in  this  way  much  is  cleared.  Houses  are  built  in  a  few 
days.  Poles  are  put  in  the  ground,  a  thatched  roof  put  on, 
sides  closed  in  with  reeds,  plastered  with  mud,  a  door  of  split 
bamboo  tied  to  one  side,  holes  left  instead  of  windows,  and  the 
family  move  in.  At  times  it  is  dangerous  to  travel  in  any  part 
of  that  plain,  on  account  of  savages  who  have  been  driven  to 
desperation  by  Chinese  soldiers.  On  arrival  at  the  east  end 
we  called  on  one  Colonel  Tan,  an  old  friend,  who  persisted  in 
sending  a  number  of  men  with  spears  to  escort  us  by  the  way. 
The  night  was  spent  at  Phoa-po-o,  where  one  hundred  assem- 
bled and  we  preached  the  gospel.  The  morning  following  was 
lovely,  and,  according  to  every  day's  work,  men  were  armed 
to  lead  the  way  to  a  new  village  through  reeds  and  grasses. 
No  one  goes  out  to  work  without  weapons  at  his  side.  Forty 
odd-looking  fellows  went  along  with  us,  several  of  whom  had 
Martini-Henry  or  Remington  rifles,  some  carried  old  Ameri- 
can muskets,  the  most  swung  over  their  shoulders  Chinese 
matchlocks,  and  others  held  long  spears  in  readiness.     Four 


A    TRIP   DOWN    THE  HAST  COAST  237 

times  the  number  of  savages  would  have  had  to  flee  before 
them  that  day.  The  Pe-po-hoan  welcomed  us  at  Teng-phoa- 
po-o.  We  followed  our  usual  program  and  set  off  with  half 
the  village  at  our  heels.  At  length  we  came  to  Thien-sang-pi, 
the  most  inland  settlement  in  all  that  region.  People  are  only 
beginning  to  test  the  virgin  soil  and  erect  huts. 

We  walked  half  a  mile  farther,  mostly  through  wet  grass,  to 
the  rather  sharp  curve  in  the  mountain.  There  I  got  up  into 
a  tallow-tree  out  of  the  wet  rushes  and  sat  on  a  large  branch, 
admiring  a  pool  of  water  in  the  bend  which  no  foreigner  ever 
gazed  upon  before.  Crescent  Pool  is  an  appropriate  name  for 
it.  It  is  full  of  nearly  a  dozen  varieties  of  fish,  and  the  marshy 
land  around  has  eels  thirty  and  forty  pounds  in  weight.  Two 
savage  villages  were  visited,  one  at  the  base  and  the  other  on 
the  spur  of  the  mountain.  Old  and  young  looked  dissipated 
and  haggard. 

At  Cheng-kui-sia  upward  of  one  hundred  met  outside,  and 
we  had  an  open-air  service,  then  crossed  several  streams,  and 
walked  through  rice-fields  to  Ang-chha-na,  where  three  times 
the  bricks  were  made  for  a  chapel  and  destroyed  by  the  rain. 
Being  quite  within  the  mountains,  they  have  very  few  dry  days. 
At  dark  oil  was  put  into  bamboo  poles  six  feet  long,  stuck  in 
an  open  space,  and  in  that  flickering  light  we  proclaimed  the 
message  of  salvation  to  a  crowd  of  poor  toil-worn  aborigines. 

Thus  we  labored  in  that  plain,  taking  all  the  chapels  in  order, 
then  back  over  the  hills  to  Kelung,  Tsui-tng-kha,  Bang-kah, 
Toa-tiu-tia,  and  out  again  to  Tamsui,  after  an  absence  of  forty 
days.  It  was  one  of  many  such  tours,  not  much  different  in 
experiences  and  results  from  others.  If  the  reader  has  gained 
a  more  accurate  idea  of  the  lights  and  shadows  of  mission- 
ary life,  and  if  hearts  are  stirred  up  to  more  earnest  prayer  and 
more  consecrated  service,  the  recital  will  not  have  been  in  vain. 


CHAPTER    XXV 


A      SEK-HOAN      MISSION 


Refused  accommodation — Ordered  out — Invited  back — A  plot — The  trai- 
tor— Building  a  chapel 

ON  the  west  coast  are  settlements  of  aborigines  that  have 
made  considerable  progress  in  Chinese  civilization.  They 
are  called  Sek-hoan  ("ripe  barbarians  ").  On  one  of  our  visits 
to  Sin-kang,  a  village  of  these  civilized  aborigines  in  the  Biau- 
lek  district,  on  the  west  coast,  three  days'  walk  from  Tamsui, 
and  as  many  miles  from  the  sea,  the  people  refused  us  accom- 
modation for  the  night.  At  dark,  however,  a  stalwart-looking 
native  made  provision  for  myself  and  students  under  his 
thatched  roof.  On  inquiry  we  learned  that  preparations  were 
being  made  for  worshiping  the  spirits  of  their  ancestors.  Their 
own  savage  customs  and  superstitions  had  been  mingled  with 
those  of  the  Chinese,  with  the  result  that  no  outsider  could  be 
allowed  within  the  precincts  for  three  days.  Accordingly  our 
host  was  urged  to  expel  us ;  but  though  he  stood  alone  he  re- 
fused. Later  on  a  letter  was  handed  me  from  the  head  man. 
It  read  thus : 

"  You  black -bearded  barbarian,  with  your  Chinese  disciples, 
must  either  leave  in  the  morning  or  stay  in  the  house  for  three 
days." 

After  a  while  I  sent  this  reply : 

"We  the  servants  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  neither 
leave  in  the  morning  nor  stay  in  the  house,  but  by  the  power 

238 


A   SEK-HOAN  MISSION  239 

of  our  God  we  will  preach  his  gospel  in  your  streets  on  the 
morrow  and  following  days." 

Immediately  the  whole  village  was  greatly  excited,  and 
many  gathered  around  the  place  where  we  were.  Some  were 
for  killing,  some  for  beating,  and  others  for  leaving  us  alone. 
The  counsel  of  the  last  prevailed.  Morning  dawned,  and  I 
told  my  students  to  choose  between  remaining  or  going  back 
to  the  north.  In  a  moment  they  were  at  my  side,  ready  to 
abide  all  consequences.  We  walked  into  the  streets  and 
found  villagers  in  groups,  squatted  on  the  ground,  with  stones 
and  other  missiles  in  readiness.  They  were  true  pictures  of 
men  with  pent-up  rage,  and  with  vehement  grunts  did  they 
denounce  us.  A  stone  thrown  by  a  young  man  passed  the 
shoulder  of  a  student  and  grazed  my  head.  We  sang  several 
hymns  and  then  returned  to  the  house.  On  the  second  day 
we  were  out  again,  and  on  the  third.  On  the  fourth  day  a 
number  came  near  us  and  spoke  somewhat  friendly.  They  felt 
not  a  little  ashamed  of  their  conduct,  which  feeling  was  never 
overcome ;  for  not  once  in  subsequent  years  did  they  refer  to 
our  first  reception.  Once  converted  to  the  religion  of  Jesus, 
the  man  who  threw  that  stone  became  a  student,  traveling 
over  mountain  and  valley  with  us,  acquiring  knowledge,  and 
later  a  preacher  laboring  in  Kap-tsu-lan,  till  he  fell  a  victim 
while  bravely  nursing  suffering  ones  during  an  epidemic. 

Weeks  rolled  by,  and  I  was  approached  at  Tamsui  by  two 
men  from  Sin-kang,  with  an  earnest  request  to  visit  them  and 
preach  the  gospel.  We  accompanied  them  back,  and  ere  long 
had  a  chapel  in  course  of  erection.  When  the  walls,  which 
were  built  of  sun-dried  bricks,  were  five  feet  high,  a  rum- 
bling noise  was  heard  and  the  earth  shook  with  convulsions. 
The  earthquake  left  the  building  leaning  over.  Unfortunate 
omen!  "The  earth  is  against  them,  and  the  spirits  opposed," 
shouted  some,  and  all  resolved  to  unite  to  quash  our  proceed- 
ings at  once.     Every  hamlet  and  town  within  miles  joined  in 


24°  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

the  cry,  and  excitement  ran  so  high  that  danger  and  death 
threatened  us  every  moment.  We  maintained  our  position, 
however,  finished  the  thatched  chapel,  and  proclaimed  Christ, 
and  him  crucified,  night  after  night  to  upward  of  a  hundred 
hearers. 

One  Sabbath  afternoon,  when  engaged  in  service,  a  letter 
was  put  on  the  table  before  me.  I  was  therein  warned  not  to 
enter  savage  territory  again  or  death  would  be  the  result.  Our 
plans  were  previously  arranged  to  enter  the  next  day.  At 
cock-crowing  we  were  on  the  march.  When  on  the  top  of  the 
first  mountain-range  a  piercing  yell  told  of  savages  at  hand, 
and  at  a  stream  in  the  valley  below  we  met  more  than  fifty  of 
them.  Salutations  were  exchanged.  The  wild  mountaineers 
pointed  their  guns  upward,  fired  a  volley,  and  bade  us  follow 
them.  They  welcomed  us  to  their  mountain  retreat,  where  we 
spent  the  night,  and  they  were  entirely  friendly.  The  origin  of 
the  letter  warning  us  against  the  savages  remained  a  mystery 
for  years.  But  when  on  my  last  visit  to  that  village,  before  re- 
turning to  Canada  in  1893,  the  mystery  was  solved.  A  man 
of  eighty  years  of  age,  Ap  Hoan,  confessed  that  he  wrote  it, 
and  that  he  urged  to  the  utmost  the  savages  to  waylay  and 
kill  us.  They  not  only  refused,  but  in  time  forced  him  and 
his  family  beyond  the  domain  of  their  tribe.  There  being  evi- 
dence of  his  conversion,  I  baptized  him  at  his  own  request, 
and  along  with  him  two  others  who,  like  him,  had  passed  the 
limit  of  fourscore  years. 

This  uncultivated  valley  was  gradually  transformed  into  rice 
and  potato  fields.  A  chapel  was  built,  and  has  served  as  a 
center  for  work  in  that  region.  From  that  village  trips  are 
made  into  savage  territory.  There  are  about  one  thousand 
Sek-hoan  at  Sin-kang,  and  in  all  points  work  there  is  similar 
to  work  among  other  semi-civilized  aborigines. 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

LIFE    AMONG    THE    LAM-SI-HOAN 

The  Ki-lai  plain — A  tropical  scene — Racial  marks — Government — Agri- 
culture— Pottery-making — The  village  well — Architecture — A  simple 
costume — A  novel  shade — Tobacco  and  betel — A  public  bath — Morals 
and  manners — Forecast 

THE  Ki-lai  plain,  far  down  the  east  coast  of  Formosa,  is 
the  home  of  about  four  thousand  aborigines  who  have 
been  subdued  by  the  Chinese,  but  who  are  scarcely  started  on 
the  road  to  civilization.  To  this  plain  I  have  made  several 
trips,  and  have  learned  not  a  little  about  the  people.  On  my 
first  visit  I  had  the  use  of  the  pony  already  referred  to,  and 
enjoyed  many  a  ride  over  the  broad,  clean,  winding  roads. 

The  plain  is  about  thirty  miles  long  from  north  to  south,  and 
about  six  miles  in  width  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea. 
It  was  formed  out  of  mountain  debris  carried  down  by  the 
streams,  and  sands  washed  up  by  the  waves.  Along  the  shore 
is  a  stretch  of  sand,  and  back  of  this  an  upland,  upon  which 
more  than  a  thousand  water-buffaloes  find  pasture.  Farther 
inland  the  soil  is  light,  and  in  places  stony,  but  suitable  for 
grazing  purposes.  The  land  nearer  the  mountains  is  a  rich, 
deep  black  loam,  mostly  of  decomposed  vegetable  matter 
washed  down  from  the  densely  wooded  mountains.  The  beds 
of  the  mountain  torrents  reveal  that  up  in  the  country  of  the 
savages,  where  the  explorer  dare  not  go,  there  are  granite,  coal, 
slate,  and  mica. 

241 


24 ^  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

This  plain  is  by  far  the  most  tropical-looking  place  I  have 
ever  seen  on  the  island.  The  roads  are  remarkably  good  and 
evidently  receive  not  a  little  care.  On  either  side  large  ever- 
green shade-trees  sometimes  grow,  and  every  mile  or  so  rest- 
ing-places are  made  of  bamboo  sticks,  upon  which  burdens  are 
laid  while  the  carriers  sit  down,  eat  betel-nut,  and  rest.  The 
scenery  is  refreshing  after  the  narrow  paths,  paddy-fields,  and 
inevitable  water-buffaloes  of  the  north.  There  is  an  acre  of 
mountain-rice  that  needs  no  artificial  irrigation ;  next  is  a 
patch  of  taro,  then  wild  indigo,  watermelons,  sweet  potatoes, 
golden  pumpkins,  the  climbing  bean,  and,  not  least  welcome, 
beautiful  green  grass.  In  the  fields  grow  rows  of  pride-of- 
India  trees,  and  at  intervals  are  erected  small  square  shade- 
huts.  The  birds  sing  among  the  branches,  the  sun  shines 
overhead,  and  one  feels  "  the  wild  joys  of  living." 

The  inhabitants  of  this  plain,  where  "  every  prospect  pleases," 
are  perhaps  the  latest  arrivals  of  the  aborigines  of  Formosa. 
Like  the  other  tribes,  both  civilized  and  savage,  they  are  allied 
to  the  Malayan  race,  and  in  some  respects  show  even  more 
strongly  marked  likeness  to  the  present-day  islanders  in  the 
Archipelago.  Their  dialect  is  peculiar,  and  quite  distinct  from 
the  Pe-po-hoan  and  the  mountain  savages.  They  are  entirely 
ignorant  of  the  Chinese  language,  and  have  themselves  no  lit- 
erature of  any  sort.  Chinese  authority  is  acknowledged,  and 
an  encampment  of  Chinese  soldiers  under  a  military  mandarin 
is  stationed  in  the  plain ;  but  the  people  do  not  shave  their 
heads  or  wear  the  cue.  The  old  men  have  their  hair  short ; 
but  some  of  the  younger  generation  are  imbibing  other  notions, 
and  are  quite  proud  of  their  long  black  locks  parted  in  the 
middle. 

Their  government  is  tribal,  or  perhaps  their  companies  might 
be  called  clans.  All  the  men  are  divided  into  ranks,  on  the 
principle  of  seniority.  There  are  nine  such  companies :  the 
first  being  composed  of  all  the  men  from  fifty-five  to  sixty  years 


LIFE  AMONG    THE  LAM-SI-HOAN  243 

of  age ;  the  second  of  those  from  fifty  to  fifty-five ;  and  so  on 
down  to  the  ninth  company,  made  up  of  the  youths  from  fif- 
teen to  twenty.  Every  five  years  the  senior  company  is  re- 
tired and  a  new  one  formed.  On  a  day  appointed  a  contest 
of  running  a  mile  and  back  decides  who  is  to  be  chief  of  the 
new  company.  The  chief  of  the  whole  tribe  is  chosen  in  a  con- 
test among  the  chiefs  of  the  several  companies.  Each  com- 
pany is  subject  to  the  one  above  it  in  rank,  and  to  each  some 
special  task  is  assigned.  One  company  makes  roads,  another 
tills  the  soil,  a  third  attends  to  the  wicker-work,  and  other  de- 
partments have  each  a  company  to  carry  them  on.  When  any 
special  work  has  to  be  done,  such  as  hunting,  harvesting,  fight- 
ing, several  companies  may  combine.  Inferiors  in  age  and 
rank  are  all  under  control  of  superiors.  In  case  of  an  offense 
being  committed  superiors  drive  the  offenders  out  of  the  village, 
and  they  dare  not  return  until  after  six  days,  on  pain  of  being 
beaten,  having  their  property  destroyed  and  family  driven  out, 
and  they  themselves  exiled  from  the  village  until  called  back. 
One  evening  at  Ka-le-oan  a  dozen  fine,  strong  fellows  were 
performing  tricks  and  feats  for  their  own  and  my  entertain- 
ment, when  three  of  their  superiors  appeared,  and  the  young 
men  bounded  out  of  sight  in  a  moment,  thus  signifying  ready 
obedience  and  fear.  The  inferior  company  was  out  on  a  hunt- 
ing-expedition, and  when  the  superiors  saw  these  young  fel- 
lows taking  it  easy  instead  of  sharing  with  their  comrades  the 
trials  of  the  chase,  they  were  very  angry  and  drove  them  from 
the  village  in  punishment.  A  day  or  two  afterward  word 
came  that  three  of  the  tribe  had  been  killed  by  the  savages, 
and  then  the  young  men  were  summoned  back  to  go  on  the 
war-path. 

The  rich  soil  is  pretty  thoroughly  worked,  the  farmers  being 
hard-working  and  industrious.  Mountain-rice,  millet,  and  taro 
are  grown  extensively,  and  fine  sweet  potatoes,  Indian  com, 
beans,  watermelons,  and  small  pumpkins.     The  short-handled 


244  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

hoe  is  the  chief  implement,  and  is  used  in  the  fields  very  dex- 
terously. Wherever  they  learned  the  art,  there  are  in  that  tribe 
blacksmiths  able  to  do  all  the  making  and  mending  required. 

Pottery  is  manufactured,  both  the  mixing  and  moulding  being 
done  by  the  hand.  At  Sa-ka-eng,  in  the  north,  the  Chinese  pot- 
ters use  a  horizontal  wheel,  like  the  people  in  Palestine ;  and 
Thomson's  description  in  "  The  Land  and  the  Book  "  accu- 
rately describes  the  Chinese  process.  But  these  Lam-si-hoan 
pottery-makers  do  not  belong  to  that  school ;  they  use  neither 
mould  nor  wheel.  The  clay  is  dug  up,  pounded  in  a  wooden 
trough  with  a  stone,  and  mixed  with  water.  A  lump  is  then 
taken  and  bit  by  bit  added,  made  into  the  required  shape,  and 
then  smoothed  with  the  hand  and  water.  The  jars  are  similar 
in  shape  to  those  made  in  Syria  and  Judea,  but  not  so  high,  and 
have  an  "  ear  "  on  each  side  for  the  hand.  They  are  always 
carried  on  the  head;  if  empty  they  are  inverted,  the  mouth, 
which  is  about  six  inches  across,  fitting  like  a  cap.  Twenty  or 
thirty  women  returning  along  the  road  from  the  village  well, 
talking,  laughing,  singing,  their  figures  well  developed,  their 
carriage  erect,  their  hands  hanging  at  their  sides,  each  with  a 
filled  water-jar  on  her  head,  make  a  picture  that  even  a  weary- 
eyed  globe-trotter  turns  to  see. 

The  people  live  mainly  in  villages.  Each  village  is  sur- 
rounded by  stately  bamboo-trees,  and  inclosing  all  is  a  deep 
moat  or  ditch.  On  entering  the  large  gate  into  the  village 
there,  on  one  side,  stands  a  long  open  shed  of  bamboo,  in 
which  a  number  of  men  sit,  making  various  kinds  of  wicker- 
work  and  discussing  questions  of  the  day.  Near  at  hand, 
shaded  by  large  trees,  is  the  village  well,  a  circular  hole  twenty 
feet  deep,  fully  a  hundred  feet  in  diameter  at  the  mouth,  and 
narrowing  down  to  two  or  three  at  the  bottom.  At  one  point 
the  side  is  cut  down,  making  a  more  gradual  slope,  up  which 
the  earth  had  been  carried,  and  which  now  serves  as  a  path 
down  to  the  water.     Around  the  mouth  of  the  well  and  down 


LIFE  AMONG    THE  LAM-SI-HOAN  245 

this  incline  a  railing  of  bamboo  is  run.  All  day  long  the 
women  come  and  go  with  their  water-jars  on  their  heads,  get- 
ting their  supply  from  this  general  reservoir. 

The  houses  are  all  after  one  design,  entirely  different  from 
the  Chinese,  and  in  the  matter  of  floor  distinctly  superior. 
Each  house  is  about  fifty  feet  long,  twenty  feet  wide,  twelve 
feet  high  at  the  ridge,  and  sloping  down  to  about  four  feet  at 
the  eaves.  Boards  are  lashed  with  rattan  to  a  sort  of  balloon 
frame.  The  grass  roof  is  fully  two  feet  thick,  and  projects  over 
the  eaves  three  or  four  feet,  making  a  kind  of  low  veranda. 
The  building  is  constructed  with  regard  not  so  much  to  the 
comfort  and  convenience  of  the  inhabitants  as  to  the  power  and 
destructiveness  of  the  typhoons,  which  sweep  over  the  plain 
every  year.  Every  house  is  floored  with  rattan  about  an  inch 
thick,  laid  close  together  and  bound  or  laced  with  rattan  splits. 
This  makes  a  strong,  neat,  and  clean  floor,  and,  being  raised  a 
foot  above  the  ground,  is  much  healthier  than  the  mud-floors 
of  Chinese  houses.  Indeed,  it  makes  a  very  comfortable  bed, 
and  is  generally  put  to  that  use.  At  one  end  of  the  room  a 
space  is  built  up  with  earth,  making  the  "fireplace."  There 
are  two  doors  to  the  house,  one  on  each  side,  made  of  bamboo. 
The  houses  are  not  arranged  in  any  particular  order,  each  one 
being  quite  independent  of  every  other  and  of  any  general  plan 
or  survey.  At  every  door  there  is  at  least  one  ugly  dog,  al- 
ways lean  and  hungry. 

A  typical  Lam-si-hoan  costume  is  simply  made  and  easily 
kept  in  repair.  The  women  all  wear  earrings  made  of  bam- 
boo, and  generally  a  kind  of  waist-cloth.  The  men  are  con- 
tent with  the  earrings,  and  do  not  worry  if  even  that  sugges- 
tion of  clothing  be  lacking.  The  women  have  a  fondness  for 
necklaces  made  of  shells  an  inch  square,  tied  together  with 
thread  and  beads.  The  more  extravagant  of  the  young  women 
set  their  hearts  on  bracelets  of  brass  and  other  ornaments,  which 
they  keep  bright  and  shining.     Tattooing  is  not  practised  by 


246  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

any  of  the  tribe,  and  they  are  unable  to  explain  the  origin  of 
the  custom  among  their  kinsmen  in  the  mountains,  or  its  dis- 
use among  themselves. 

The  tropical  sun  is  very  hot  and  the  rain  heavy,  and  as  a 
protection  they  have  devised  a  simple  but  effective  shade. 
A  frame  of  light  wood  is  made,  three  feet  long  and  eighteen 
inches  wide,  across  which  the  fine  tops  of  reeds  are  laid,  and 
secured  close  together  with  rattan  bands.  A  thin  piece  of 
board  across  the  middle  acts  as  a  support,  and  to  it  strings  are 
attached,  with  which  the  shade  is  tied  around  the  neck ;  and 
in  this  way  it  is  worn  on  their  shoulders  by  the  workers  bend- 
ing over  their  task  in  the  sun  or  rain,  without  interfering  with 
their  movements  or  the  freedom  of  their  hands. 

Rice  is  the  staple  food,  and  at  meal-time  the  whole  family 
squat  around  a  large  plate  set  on  the  floor,  and,  not  with 
spoons  or  chopsticks,  but  with  two  fingers  and  the  thumb, 
each  "  takes  rice."  A  piece  of  raw  meat  is  relished  as  a  sweet 
morsel,  and  is  not  cut  with  a  knife,  but  torn  with  fingers  and 
teeth. 

Tobacco  is  grown  very  largely,  and  the  dried  leaves  are 
rolled  as  required  into  huge  cigars  six  or  eight  inches  long  and 
about  an  inch  and  a  half  thick.  Cigar-smoking  and  betel-nut 
eating  are  universal  with  both  sexes.  Under  the  shade  of  the 
trees,  in  their  houses,  by  the  roadside — everywhere — men  and 
women  may  be  seen,  singly  or  in  groups,  each  with  a  small 
gourd  full  of  lime  made  from  burned  sea-shells  and  coral,  and 
bags  of  tobacco-leaves  and  betel-nut.  Their  mouths  are  dirty, 
disfigured,  and  seemingly  tireless.  When  walking  or  resting 
the  whole  time  is  employed  in  preparing  or  using  the  betel 
and  cigar.  The  habit  is  not  only  unspeakably  filthy,  but  de- 
grading and  ruinous  to  their  health. 

But  lest  one  might  think  them  indifferent  in  the  matter  of 
cleanliness,  one  will  be  taken  to  see  the  public  baths  with  which 
some  of  these  villages  are  provided.     I  was  invited  to  inspect 


LIFE  AMONG    THE  LAM-SI-HOAN  247 

the  one  at  Chhit-kha-chhoan,  a  village  of  more  than  a  thou- 
sand people,  gathered  together  at  the  base  of  a  high,  steep 
mountain.  A  clear,  cool  stream  from  a  mountain  spring  is- 
sued from  the  side  of  a  rock  and  supplied  water  for  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  village.  The  bathing  arrangements  are  very  sim- 
ple. Two  sets  of  split-bamboo  spouts,  one  four  feet  long,  the 
other  eight,  are  erected  seven  feet  high,  and  convey  the  water 
out  from  the  side  of  the  rock.  From  these  spouts  the  pure, 
fresh  water  is  pouring  all  the  year  round,  and  there,  with  noth- 
ing but  the  sky  or  clouds  for  walls  or  covering,  is  the  public 
bath.  But  even  in  that  primitive  state  of  society  there  are 
rules  and  regulations,  and  the  fixed  law  at  that  bathing-place 
is  that  the  men  stand  under  the  outer  streams  and  the  women 
under  the  inner.  At  all  hours  of  the  day  they  are  coming  and 
going ;  the  women  with  their  jars,  which  they  first  fill  and  set 
aside ;  then  they  stand,  sit,  or  crouch  under  the  water-streams, 
chuckling  and  grunting  with  delight  as  the  cool  water  falls  upon 
them ;  and  when  they  have  exhausted  that  pleasure,  or  other 
duties  call,  the  jars  are  raised  again,  and  with  heads  erect  they 
march  homeward,  singing,  it  may  be,  some  snatch  of  song. 

In  society  constituted  as  it  is  among  the  Lam-si-hoan,  neither 
refinement  of  life  nor  elegance  of  manners  need  be  looked  for. 
Their  lives  have  not  been  touched  by  those  great  movements 
that  have  fixed  the  standard  of  manners  in  Christian  civiliza- 
tion, and  they  never  indulge  those  habits  of  thought  and  intro- 
spection that  awaken  self-consciousness  and  a  sense  of  shame. 
They  never  heard  the  name  of  God,  and  have  no  knowledge 
of  his  grace  and  truth.  The  life  they  live  is  full  of  toil  and 
hardship,  and  their  nature-worship  is  powerless  to  redeem  or 
sanctify.  To  their  minds,  darkened  by  innumerable  supersti- 
tions, the  thought  of  anything  unseen  that  is  not  to  be  dreaded 
is  hard  to  grasp.  The  spirits  they  believe  in  are  vengeful  and 
cruel,  and  were  it  not  for  their  direful  power  would  be  neglected 
altogether.     Without   priest    or   idol   or   temple,  they   live   in 


248  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

bondage  to  a  fear  of  spirits  everywhere,  in  earth  and  air  and 
sea.  To  Christianize  them  would  require  a  distinct  and  sep- 
arate mission,  as  their  plain  is  difficult  of  access,  and  the  voy- 
age down  the  coast  dangerous.  With  "  very  much  land  to  be 
possessed  "  in  the  more  enduring  cities  and  settlements  in  the 
north,  it  seemed  unwise  to  expend  much  of  our  strength  on 
this  unstable  and  vanishing  tribe.  The  aborigines  cannot  sur- 
vive the  coming  and  presence  of  the  dominant  race.  The  re- 
peating-rifle  and  spear  of  the  mountain  savage  on  the  one  side, 
and  the  unscrupulous  greed  and  destructive  vices  of  the  Chinese 
on  the  other,  are  making  inroads  on  this  people,  who  have  not 
the  compensating  strength  and  endurance  of  either  the  savage 
or  the  civilized. 

The  future  of  the  Lam-si-hoan  is  not  hard  to  forecast.  They 
have  little  moral  or  social  recuperative  power,  and  they  imbibe 
nothing  of  the  rejuvenating  life-streams  of  civilization.  Theirs 
is  the  tragedy  of  many  savage  tribes  alike  in  the  East  and  in 
the  West :  the  first  touch  of  the  civilized  man  is  the  touch  of 
death.  China's  civilization  in  the  Ki-lai  plain  is  represented 
by  the  soldier  and  the  trader ;  and  in  their  footsteps  follow  car- 
nal passion  and  deadly  lust.  Already  poisonous  liquors  and 
corroding  licentiousness  have  begun  their  havoc,  and  instead 
of  strength  and  vigor,  physical  haggardness  and  wreckage  are 
added  to  intellectual  degradation  and  moral  poverty. 


THE   MOUNTAIN   SAVAGES 


249 


CHAPTER    XXVII 

SAVAGE    LIFE    AND    CUSTOMS 

Of  human  interest — Personal  contact — Trip  with  Captain  Bax — A  crafty 
chief — Social  organization  —  Houses — Food — Dress — Tattooing — 
Musical  instruments — Marriage — Morality — Religion — Superstition 
— Ascent  of  Mount  Sylvia — Disappointment — On  a  grave — Hospi- 
tality— Christmas  with  the  savages — Destructive  influences — 
Woman's    lot — Missionary  work 

IT  matters  little  how  far  removed  the  civilized  may  be  from 
the  savage,  or  how  many  generations  may  have  come  and 
gone  since  our  ancestors  lived  in  huts  and  dressed  in  skins ; 
we  are  all  of  us  interested  in  the  life  of  those  tribes  who  have 
maintained  their  wild  independence,  and  with  much  heroic 
endurance  roam  the  plains  or  pierce  the  jungles,  scorning  the 
sweets  of  civilization,  living  only  for  to-day,  and  counting  a 
calamity  whatever  checks  desire  or  curbs  their  restless  will. 
The  savage's  will  "  is  the  wind's  will,"  and  there  is  a  fascina- 
tion about  his  reckless  dash  and  careless  abandon. 

Savage  life  can  be  seen  in  all  its  lights  and  shades  in  the 
primeval  mountain  forests  of  Formosa.  How  many  centuries 
the  deer  and  boar  have  been  hunted  among  these  hills  by 
swarthy  Malays  history  does  not  know.  A  thousand  years  is 
as  far  back  as  the  annals  go,  but  the  island  was  theirs  before 
the  annals  were  kept.  Save  for  the  encroachments  of  the 
Chinese,  circumscribing  their  territory  and  furnishing  them 
with  the  destructive  repeating-rifle,  these  savages  in  the  moun- 
tains are  to-day  in  life  and  manners  what  they  were  ten  centu- 

251 


252  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

ries  ago.  What  I  have  learned  of  their  customs  and  beliefs 
has  been  through  personal  contact  with  them  for  weeks  to- 
gether in  their  hamlets  and  villages.  There  was  constant 
danger,  for  no  one  can  tell  how  or  when  the  savage  nature  will 
manifest  its  savagery ;  but  intercourse  with  them  was  always 
interesting  and  instructive. 

One  year  after  landing  I  made  an  extensive  trip  into  sav- 
age territory  in  company  with  Captain  Bax,  of  H.  B.  M.  ship 
"  Dwarf,"  who  was  desirous  of  seeing  the  natives  in  their 
mountain  home.  Three  days'  journey  from  Tamsui  a  party  of 
friendly  natives,  with  their  chief,  got  ready  to  escort  us.  We 
were  led  through  many  streams,  along  and  over  many  hills, 
and  halted  beside  a  cool  spring  at  the  base  of  a  high  moun- 
tain-range. After  dinner  we  began  to  ascend  the  mountain, 
but  it  was  steep,  rugged,  and  literally  covered  with  rank  vege- 
tation. Those  in  advance  had  to  cut  the  creepers  and  other 
growths  with  long  knives,  and  so  difficult  was  the  ascent  that 
"  the  boldest  held  his  breath  for  a  time."  Before  we  reached 
the  top,  thirty-five  hundred  feet  high,  the  chief  himself  com- 
pletely collapsed  and  had  to  be  hauled  up  with  a  long  rattan. 
That  range  was  the  dividing-line  between  the  Chinese  and  the 
savages.  To  penetrate  farther  was  at  our  peril,  but  we  had 
counted  the  cost  and  were  resolved  on  taking  the  risk.  After 
cutting  our  way  over  another  range  we  stood  on  the  summit 
of  the  last,  and  our  leaders  shouted.  The  answer  was  returned, 
and  a  party  from  the  tribe  in  the  valley  below,  with  guns, 
spears,  bows  and  arrows,  started  up  in  our  direction.  When 
half-way  down  we  met  them  face  to  face ;  signs  were  made, 
and  we  were  allowed  to  pass  on,  they  following  closely.  Tat- 
tooed women  and  naked  children  came  out  to  see  the  strangers. 

At  dark  we  were  in  a  large  valley,  where  we  came  upon  a 
group  of  several  hundred  savages  squatting  on  the  ground  to- 
gether. A  halt  was  called,  and  as  there  were  no  houses  or  huts 
to  be  seen  our  people  started  fires,  cooked  rice,  and  prepared 


SAVAGE  LIFE  AND   CUSTOMS  253 

a  shelter  for  the  night.  Standing  around  that  glowing  fire, 
shut  in  by  mountain  and  forest,  those  savage  chiefs,  with  their 
wild-eyed  braves,  heard  for  the  first  and  perhaps  last  time  the 
solemn  strains  of  David's  Hundredth  Psalm.  The  "people" 
understood  not,  but  the  night  wind  brought  back  the  echoes 
telling  that  mountain  and  valley  understood  and  answered  the 
call  to  "  sing  to  the  Lord  with  cheerful  voice."  The  chiefs 
fixed  their  eyes  on  us  in  silence  all  the  while,  and  when  we 
lay  down  they  squatted  round  the  fires.  It  was  too  cold  for 
us  to  sleep,  and  all  through  the  night,  like  sentinels  on  duty, 
those  savage  eyes  kept  sleepless  watch  against  anything  sus- 
picious on  the  part  of  the  strangers. 

At  daybreak  we  persuaded  the  chief  and  his  son  to  take  us 
to  see  their  dwellings.  After  much  hesitation  and  parleying 
more  than  thirty  started  with  us.  Through  jungle,  over  wind- 
falls, our  clothes  torn  by  thorny  shrubs,  we  pushed  our  way. 
A  sound  was  heard,  and  looking  up  a  large  bird  was  observed 
perched  on  a  tree.  Suddenly  all  were  breathlessly  still.  The 
old  chief  crawled  up  like  a  cat,  and  when  under  the  tree  let 
drive  a  heavy  charge  from  his  Chinese  matchlock.  The  beau- 
tiful bird  was  brought  down,  put  into  a  bag,  and  one  of  the 
men  carried  it  on  his  shoulder.  Captain  Bax  and  I  were  be- 
ginning to  suspect  the  chief's  leading.  Presently  we  came  to 
a  clearing,  and  the  chief  stepped  back  and  told  us  that  there 
were  Chinese  in  the  huts,  and  if  we  would  go  around  and  engage 
them  from  the  open  he  and  his  men  wrould  attack  them  from 
the  bush,  and  they  could  not  escape.  The  old  rascal  thought 
to  make  us  tools  for  his  head-hunting  braves.  We  were  in- 
dignant, and  in  no  mild  terms  told  him  that  he  was  not  honor- 
able ;  that  we  came  far  to  pay  him  a  visit,  and  he  deceived 
us.  They  all  listened  as  the  interpreter  translated,  and  anger 
gleamed  from  every  eye.  Then  after  a  little  conversation 
among  themselves  they  seemed  mollified  ;  the  chief  acknow- 
ledged he  was  wrong,  and  promised  to  take  us  to  their  own 


254  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

villages.  Going  in  an  almost  opposite  direction  we  were  sur- 
prised to  come  upon  a  well-beaten  path,  winding,  to  be  sure, 
but  good  for  traveling ;  and  when  on  the  top  of  a  very  high 
range  we  were  ordered  to  halt  and  remain  silent.  A  peculiar 
shout  was  raised  and  immediately  answered  from  another  moun- 
tain-top. Going  down  one  range  and  up  another,  we  saw  their 
village,  with  several  hundred  men,  women,  and  children  gaz- 
ing at  us,  and  half-starved  dogs  yelping  like  very  devils.  Other 
terrible  noises,  wild  and  hellish,  were  explained  as  the  shouts 
of  rejoicing  at  a  feast  that  was  being  held  over  a  Chinese  head 
that  had  been  brought  in  fresh  from  the  border-land. 

We  were  invited  to  a  seat,  and  several  to  whom  I  had  given 
quinine  for  malaria  the  evening  we  were  in  the  valley  came 
forward  and  claimed  me  as  a  friend.  We  were  interested  in 
the  architecture  of  their  huts,  and  produced  note-books  and 
pencils  to  make  sketches.  The  savages  stared  at  us  for  a 
while,  and  when  they  understood  what  we  were  doing  they 
began  chattering  angrily  among  themselves.  The  young  men 
darted  into  the  huts  and  reappeared  with  long  iron-headed 
spears.  They  were  wild  with  rage.  Every  eye  flashed.  We 
took  in  the  situation  and  quietly  put  away  our  books  and  pen- 
cils. Gradually  the  excitement  subsided  and  we  tried  to  ex- 
plain. But  no  explanation  would  satisfy.  In  our  ignorance 
we  had  committed  a  great  offense.  They  have  a  superstition 
that  making  a  photograph  or  picture  extracts  the  essence  of  a 
thing,  and  they  believed  that  our  innocent  sketches  would  not 
only  take  the  essence  out  of  their  houses,  but  could  be  used 
to  our  advantage  and  to  their  hurt.  We  were  afterward  as- 
sured that  had  we  persisted  neither  of  us  would  have  returned 
to  tell  the  tale. 

That  evening  we  were  again  in  the  valley,  and  when  our 
fires  were  lighted  fully  five  hundred  savages  from  the  bush 
gathered  round.  We  made  some  presents,  and  then  by  means 
of  an  interpreter  I  told  them  of  the  great  Father  and  of  Him 


SAVAGE  LIFE  AND   CUSTOMS  255 

who  "  died  to  make  us  good."  Our  party  sang  hymns  for  an 
hour  or  two,  and  with  a  prayer  that  the  Holy  Spirit  would  seal 
something  of  our  message  in  those  dark  heathen  hearts  we  lay 
down  to  rest.  Next  day  we  made  our  way,  through  a  drench- 
ing rain,  down  slippery  paths,  out  into  the  cleared  land.  We 
had  gone  farther  than  white  man  had  ever  penetrated  before ; 
but  on  emerging  from  the  bush  the  captain  was  prostrated 
with  fever  and  had  to  be  carried  back  to  Tamsui  in  a  sedan. 
I  kept  up  until  the  first  night  in  my  own  house,  when  for  the 
first  time  I  felt  the  dread  fever's  hands  of  ice  and  fire. 

There  are  many  different  tribes  in  these  mountains,  and 
each  tribe  has  its  peculiar  features  in  language,  customs,  and 
modes  of  life ;  but  all  that  is  distinctive  of  savage  life  is  com- 
mon to  each.  They  usually  live  in  hamlets  or  villages  built 
on  the  top  of  a  mountain  or  high  upland.  The  largest  village 
I  saw  had  about  seven  hundred  inhabitants ;  the  average  pop- 
ulation is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty.  Each  village  has  a 
head  man,  and  each  tribe  a  chief.  The  greatest  brave,  the 
one  most  gifted  to  command,  is  generally  chief ;  and  his  son, 
if  brave  and  popular,  sometimes  succeeds  him  in  office.  The 
chief's  authority  is  absolute,  but  he  has  a  kind  of  council, 
composed  of  a  half-dozen  of  the  older  braves,  with  whom  he 
confers  in  matters  of  unusual  importance. 

Their  houses  are  usually  constructed  of  planks,  bamboo,  or 
wickerwork ;  sometimes  of  reeds  daubed  with  mud.  Their 
best  houses  are  floored  with  rattan  ropes  half  an  inch  thick, 
but  are  without  division  or  partition.  The  parents  sleep  on 
the  east  side,  the  boys  on  the  west,  and  the  girls  on  the  south. 
A  village  consists  of  a  half-dozen  such  houses ;  a  score  makes 
a  large  village.  The  skulls  of  boar  and  deer  fastened  on  the 
walls,  shining  black  with  smoke,  served  for  interior  decoration  ; 
and  outside,  under  the  eaves,  is  an  entire  row  of  these  orna- 
ments, relieved  by  an  occasional  Chinese  cranium,  some  fresh, 
others  old  and  weather-beaten. 


256  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

The  hunt  is  the  main  source  of  savage  food-supply.  In  the 
forests  game  is  plentiful,  and  with  guns,  spears,  bows  and  arrows, 
boar,  bear,  deer,  and  smaller  game — indeed,  anything  that  has 
life — are  secured  for  food.  They  are  not  at  all  dainty,  and 
eat  what  they  can  get,  if  they  cannot  get  what  they  want ; 
but  as  the  choicest  of  morsels  they  enjoy  a  piece  of  raw  flesh 
cut  warm  from  the  slain  animal  before  it  is  dead.  A  little 
farming  is  done,  the  work  generally  falling  to  the  women. 
Three  or  four  acres  of  ground  are  sufficient  for  a  village  of  one 
hundred,  each  family  having  a  separate  plot.  Mountain-rice, 
maize,  taro,  a  little  sweet  potato,  and  pomelos  are  cultivated, 
while  berries,  plums,  and  a  small  variety  of  orange  grow  wild. 
A  hoe  with  a  short  handle  is  the  one  implement  required. 

The  dress  of  the  savage  is  not  altogether  unpicturesque. 
A  sack  of  coarse  linen,  open  in  front,  and  with  holes  for  the 
arms,  serves  the  purposes  of  a  coat,  and  is  often  ornamented 
with  bright  red  or  blue  threads  plucked  from  a  piece  of  flan- 
nel obtained  in  barter,  interwoven  about  the  bottom.  Caps 
are  made  of  rattan,  and  besmeared  with  the  blood  of  the  deer 
or  boar,  and  sometimes  covered  with  the  skins  of  animals 
killed  in  hunting.  Buttons,  beads,  and  brass  wire  are  greatly 
prized  for  ornamentation.  Women  have  artistic  head-bands 
of  beads,  shells,  and  carnelian.  Rows  of  brass  rings  are  worn 
on  the  legs  and  arms,  and  armlets  of  white  shell  are  thought  to 
look  well  against  the  reddish  brown  of  a  woman's  arm.  Men 
and  women  wear  earrings,  the  woman's  style  being  a  stick  of 
bamboo  five  inches  in  length  and  half  an  inch  thick,  wound 
round  at  intervals  with  a  fine  yellow  grass ;  the  men  are  con- 
tent with  ones  of  a  larger  size,  but  shorter.  These  are  stuck 
through  holes  made  in  the  ears,  and  to  a  foreigner  look  neither 
comfortable  nor  pretty ;  but  custom  has  laid  its  hand  heavy 
on  these  dusky  children  of  the  forest,  as  on  the  aristocracy  of 
European  or  American  society.  However  much  or  little  other 
clothing  is  worn,  every  man  must  have  a  broad  belt  of  braided 


SAVAGE  LIFE  AND   CUSTOMS  257 

rattan,  in  which  he  carries  a  long,  crooked,  sharp-pointed 
knife,  so  useful  for  cutting  tobacco,  betel-nut,  wood,  and  in 
case  an  animal  is  to  be  skinned  or  a  Chinese  beheaded.  This 
belt  is  also  very  useful  when  food  is  scarce;  an  extra  twist  or 
knot  is  said  to  greatly  mitigate  a  hungry  man's  distress. 

Tattooing  is  practised  by  all  the  mountain  savages,  and  is 
done  with  great  care.  A  well-defined  pattern  is  carefully 
followed.  The  blue-black  lines  on  the  forehead  are  short, 
straight,  vertical ;  those  on  the  cheeks  are  invariably  curved 
and  are  regularly  arranged.  From  the  ear  to  the  side  of  the 
mouth  are  three  curved  lines;  underneath  them  a  row  of 
diamond-shaped  marks;  lower  down  three  more  curved 
lines  extending  from  ear  to  ear  below  the  mouth ;  below  this 
another  row  of  ornaments ;  and  lower  still  three  curved  lines 
complete  the  design.  No  prize-winner  on  presentation  day 
feels  prouder  than  a  savage  when  standing  up  to  be  tattooed. 

They  have  only  two  musical  instruments — one  a  simple 
affair  made  of  the  hard  rind  of  the  bamboo,  three  inches  long, 
half  an  inch  wide,  with  a  "tongue"  cut  in  the  center  and  a 
string  attached  to  either  end.  It  is  made  on  the  principle  of 
the  "  jews'-harp,"  and  produces  a  similar  sound.  The  other 
is  a  "  nose-flute,"  made  of  bamboo,  a  foot  long,  blown  into 
with  the  nose,  and  played  upon  with  the  fingers  like  a  flute. 

The  savages  all  many ;  old  bachelors  and  old  maids  are 
alike  unknown.  Marriage,  however,  is  a  social  privilege  from 
which  a  man  is  debarred  until  he  has  proved  his  merit  as  a 
hunter  and  has  brought  in  at  least  one  Chinese  head;  but  if 
the  Chinese  are  unusually  careful  about  their  heads,  and  keep 
beyond  spear-reach  of  the  most  daring  brave,  the  chief  may 
grant  a  special  dispensation  to  one  who  has  won  his  spurs  in 
a  deer-hunt  or  in  a  contest  with  the  wild  boar.  The  parents 
of  the  girl  make  arrangements  for  her,  and  answer  all  proper 
questions.  There  is  no  great  ceremony,  except  that  the  bride 
is  gaily  decked  with  ornaments  and  articles  of  many  colors 


258  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

before  she  is  led  to  the  house  of  her  husband,  and  that  danc- 
ing, drinking,  and  wild  carousing  express  the  good  wishes  of 
the  tribe. 

These  savages  are  singularly  free  from  many  moral  and 
social  vices  common  alike  among  civilized  and  uncivilized 
peoples.  Gambling  and  opium-smoking  are  very  rare ;  mur- 
der, theft,  incendiarism,  polygamy,  and  social  impurity  are  al- 
most unknown,  except  where  the  baneful  influence  of  Chinese 
traders  and  border-men  has  corrupted  the  simplicity  of  the 
savage.  Tribes  are  continually  at  war  with  one  another,  and  all 
agree  in  regarding  raids  on  the  Chinese  as  both  legitimate  and 
praiseworthy ;  but  among  themselves  crime  is  rare.  Should  a 
brave  be  convicted  of  incendiarism  or  wounding  another  in  a 
drunken  quarrel  he  is  condemned  to  procure  a  certain  number 
of  deer-skins  and  to  give  a  feast  at  his  own  expense  for  the 
tribe. 

Whatever  of  religion  these  savages  possess  may  be  called 
nature-worship.  They  are  entirely  without  any  of  the  notions 
or  the  symbols  of  Chinese  idolatry.  They  do  not  bow  down 
and  worship  anything  seen  or  unseen,  and  have  no  conception 
of  a  supreme  personal  God.  There  are  feasts,  however,  that 
have  a  certain  religious  significance.  At  the  end  of  harvest 
they  have  a  dance  and  feast  expressive  of  reverence  and  grat- 
itude to  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  They  believe,  too,  in  the 
existence  and  continued  influence  of  innumerable  spirits,  the 
spirits  of  their  ancestors  and  great  braves  who  have  left  the 
body.  The  distinction  between  the  soul  and  the  body  is  marked 
by  the  names  given — ta-ni-sa/i,  meaning  the  soul,  and  egyp,  the 
body.  Their  notions  of  the  place  of  the  departed  spirits  are 
very  vague  and  general,  but  the  belief  in  their  direful  power  is 
a  source  of  perpetual  fear  and  torture.  Food  and  liquor  are 
sometimes  set  for  the  spirits  of  the  departed,  and  then  con- 
sumed with  some  sort  of  invocation  to  the  spirits  to  bless  and 
prosper.     I  was  present  on  one  occasion  when  one  tribe  was 


SAY  AGE  LIFE  AND   CUSTOMS  259 

engaged  in  this  ceremony.  The  right  hand  was  held  up  with 
the  index-finger  extended,  and  all  joined  in  the  invocation : 
"  Na-e-an  [Heaven],  hang-ni-ngi-sa-i-a-ku  [give  us  hearts  of 
peace,  give  us  long  life,  give  us  prosperity] ;  han-pai-ku  [we 
are  about  to  eat]."  At  the  same  time  the  forefinger  was  dipped 
four  times  in  the  liquor,  and  then  the  following  words  were 
added :  "  Ma-ra-nai  [Earth],  han-pai-ku  [we  are  about  to  eat] ; 
ai-mu  na-va-hi  [you  spirits  that  have  already  departed,  give  us 
peace]." 

Some  tribes  have  ceremonies  in  connection  with  the  worship 
of  their  ancestors  three  times  a  year.  They  regard  it  a  duty 
to  praise  and  reverence  their  progenitors  for  the  hardships 
they  encountered  and  for  their  skill  in  killing  the  boar  and 
deer.  In  an  open  space  in  the  village  the  tribe  meets;  men 
and  women  join  hands  in  a  circle  around  liquor,  cakes,  millet, 
and  salted  fish,  placed  there  for  the  spirits  expected  to  be 
present.  At  times  they  join  hands  in  a  long  row,  two  or  three 
of  the  leaders  waving  white-and-red  flags  at  the  ends  of  long 
bamboo  poles.  This  ceremony  invariably  takes  place  at  night, 
and  a  weird  thing  it  is  to  watch  their  half-naked  bodies  bound 
forward  and  backward,  with  many  wild  leaps  into  the  air,  their 
flags  flying  in  the  lurid  torch-light,  and  all  the  time  the  most 
unearthly  yells  and  shrieks  keeping  up  a  sort  of  pandemonium 
chant. 

They  reverence  to  the  utmost  degree  of  superstitious  vener- 
ation the  chirp  and  movements  of  little  birds.  Should  any 
expedition  be  under  consideration — especially  hunting,  and 
most  of  all  head-hunting — they  will  go  out  and  throw  sticks 
up  into  some  tree  and  disturb  the  birds.  Should  the  chirp  be 
a  certain  sound  and  their  flight  be  in  a  certain  direction,  noth- 
ing could  induce  the  chief  to  call  out  his  braves.  Their  rev- 
erence for  the  little  tailor-bird  has  more  than  once  been  the 
cause  of  annoyance  and  inconvenience.  On  one  occasion  I 
planned  the  ascent  of  Mount  Sylvia,  whose  peak  towers  more 


260  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

than  eleven  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  The  services  of  a 
chief  and  a  dozen  braves  were  secured.  The  chief's  son,  who 
afterward  became  a  Christian,  acted  as  interpreter.  Our  point 
of  departure  was  a  place  we  called  "  Huts."  When  Captain 
Bax  made  his  trip  this  was  the  farthest  inland  point  then 
reached.  Two  of  the  men  went  in  advance,  cutting  the 
prickly  creepers ;  but  the  first  day  our  clothes  were  torn  and 
our  hands  sorely  lacerated.  The  second  day,  on  a  high  peak, 
the  signal-shout  of  our  guides  was  answered  by  several  shots 
in  rapid  succession,  and  then  another  band  of  savages  met  us. 
They  surrounded  me,  scrutinized  me  from  head  to  foot,  then 
grinned  and  said,  "  You  have  no  cue ;  you  must  be  our  kins- 
man." 

After  spending  the  night  in  their  village  we  crossed  another 
range  and  followed  a  dark  defile,  where,  looking  over  the 
ledges  of  rock,  an  impetuous  torrent  could  be  seen  dashing 
over  boulders  two  hundred  feet  below.  In  the  afternoon  we 
were  within  the  bounds  of  another  tribe.  A  halt  was  called ; 
rice-balls  were  ranged  in  a  circle,  a  large  bamboo  of  native 
liquor,  with  a  drinking-cup,  in  the  center.  They  all  sat  down, 
drank,  and  fired  several  volleys.  Two  dozen  of  the  local  tribe, 
with  their  chief,  who  had  been  watching  us  from  concealment 
all  the  time,  suddenly  appeared  with  their  matchlocks  ready. 
Our  chief  made  signs  and  the  guns  were  lowered.  Each  one 
advanced  in  turn,  and  putting  his  hand  first  on  my  breast, 
then  on  his  own,  said,  "  You  are  our  kinsman."  Then  the 
members  of  the  two  tribes  threw  their  arms  around  one  an- 
other's necks,  and  with  their  faces  together  drank  to  the  health 
of  both. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  clay  we  were  making  the 
ascent  of  Sylvia.  There  is  excitement  and  interest  in  the 
thought,  for  Sylvia  is  the  pride  of  our  mountains.  Higher  and 
higher  we  wound  and  cut  and  climbed.  Far  up  we  reached  a 
little  open  space  among  the  tangle,  and  could  see  that  next 


SAVAGE  LIFE  AND   CUSTOMS  261 

day  would  take  us  to  the  topmost  peak.  Below  could  be  seen 
all  the  ranges,  with  their  intervening  valleys.  All  around  was 
the  wild  luxuriance  of  cypress  and  camphor,  orange,  plum,  and 
apple,  chestnut,  oak,  and  palm,  while  the  umbrella-like  tree-fern 
rose  majestically  some  thirty  feet  high,  with  its  spreading 
fronds  fully  twenty  feet  long.  Far  up  in  the  crotch  of  the 
camphor  or  cypress  could  be  seen  the  ribbony  ferns,  and 
hanging  down  from  the  branches  orchids  varied  and  beautiful. 
On  one  side  is  a  grove  of  bamboo  with  sky-blue  stems  and 
feathery  tops.  In  the  jungle  the  trees  are  interlaced  by  a  net- 
work of  prickly  rattan.  Standing  there  on  that  jutting  crag, 
gazing  on  that  marvelous  scene  above,  around,  below,  listen- 
ing to  the  music  of  a  torrent  tumbling  from  a  chasm  high 
overhead,  far  to  the  west  the  waters  of  the  Formosa  Channel 
gleaming  like  a  long  line  of  blue  light,  and,  between,  the  moun- 
tain-ranges, looking  as  though  the  dark-green  sea  stood  still, 
"with  all  its  rounded  billows  fixed  and  motionless  forever," 
the  effect  of  it  all  was  overwhelming. 

But  after  that  night  of  ecstasy  came  the  morning  of  disap- 
pointment. With  the  snow-capped  heights  of  Sylvia  almost 
within  reach,  the  chief  announced  his  decision  to  return  to 
"  Huts."  He  had  been  out  interviewing  the  birds,  and  their 
flight  warned  him  back.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  fall 
into  line  and  retrace  our  steps.  Reluctantly,  but  with  much 
more  rapidity,  the  descent  was  made,  and  we  arrived  at  the 
village  in  time  for  the  braves  to  participate  in  the  devilish  jubi- 
lation over  a  head  brought  in  during  our  absence.  One  ugly 
old  chief,  wild  with  the  excitement  of  the  dance,  put  his  arm 
around  my  neck  and  pressed  me  to  drink  with  him  from  his 
bamboo,  mouth  to  mouth.  I  refused,  stepped  back,  looked 
him  sternly  square  in  the  face,  and  he  was  cowed  and  made 
apologies.  When  we  left  them  they  were  urgent  in  their  in- 
vitations to  their  "  black-bearded  kinsman  "  to  visit  them  again. 

When  in  the  forests  near  West  Peak,  nine  thousand  feet 


262  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

high,  I  strolled  about  outside  a  savage  village,  and  was  sud- 
denly called  to  halt  by  strange  and  angry  shouts.  Looking 
around  for  an  explanation,  I  saw  savages  with  their  chief  stand- 
ing a  little  way  off,  their  hands  on  the  handles  of  their  long 
knives.  They  gesticulated  wildly  and  seemed  almost  frantic. 
I  then  advanced  to  the  chief,  put  my  hand  on  his  shoulder, 
and  immediately  the  turmoil  ceased.  The  cause  of  it  all  was 
that  I  had  been  standing  upon  an  old  grave,  and,  according 
to  their  superstitious  notions,  to  touch  a  grave  is  sure  to  bring 
dire  calamity  to  the  tribe.  They  bury  a  dead  body  in  a  hole 
several  feet  deep,  the  knees  drawn  up  to  the  breast,  and  all  the 
weapons  of  the  dead  deposited  in  the  grave.  It  is  covered 
over  with  twigs  and  leaves,  and  then  all  rush  away,  not  daring 
to  look  back  or  to  return  to  repair  the  grave. 

I  was  in  that  region  with  some  of  the  students  for  three 
weeks,  unable  to  return  to  the  cleared  land  owing  to  the  im- 
passable state  of  the  streams,  swollen  by  continual  rains.  We 
had  no  provisions  and  were  entirely  dependent  on  the  savages. 
But  we  lacked  for  nothing.  What  food  they  had  or  could  get 
we  shared.  They  brought  us  Indian  corn  and  wild  honey 
preserved  in  bottles  made  out  of  the  bamboo.  They  offered 
us  a  spirituous  liquor  made  out  of  mountain-rice,  of  which  they 
are  very  fond,  and  which  seems  to  make  them  drowsy.  Mr. 
E.  C.  Baber,  the  British  consul,  who  was  with  me  on  one  tour, 
sampled  the  liquor  and  pronounced  it  "poor  stuff." 

One  year  I  spent  Christmas  day  with  the  savages.  Koa 
Kau,  another  student,  and  an  elder  from  Sin-tiam  accompanied 
me.  We  crossed  the  river  at  Sin-tiam  and  were  soon  within 
the  mountains.  Next  day,  when  walking  some  distance  in 
advance  of  the  others,  I  came  upon  a  savage  woman  with  a 
child  on  her  back.  She  looked  afraid  at  first,  but  when  I 
spoke  she  smiled  and  the  child  laughed  aloud.  A  little  farther 
on  her  husband  appeared,  his  hand  grasping  his  knife  and  a 
fierce  look  on  his  face.     The  woman  spoke  to  him  and  then 


SAVAGE  LIFE  AND   CUSTOMS  263 

he  was  friendly.  Hearing  that  I  wished  to  visit  their  chief, 
who  holds  rule  over  eight  villages,  they  offered  to  guide  me. 
Through  reed-marshes  and  jungle,  up  hill  and  down,  over 
rocks  and  fallen  trees,  we  made  our  way.  Again  and  again 
bird-listening  was  resorted  to,  but  always  with  favorable  results. 

When  we  reached  the  chief's  village  we  were  taken  into  his 
august  presence.  He  received  us  graciously.  The  students 
and  myself  were  to  be  his  guests,  while  the  rest  of  our  party 
should  be  given  quarters  in  another  house.  A  bear  had  been 
killed  that  day,  and  a  fresh  piece  of  his  flesh  was  brought  in 
for  us  ;  but  we  were  not  equal  to  raw  bear's  meat  not  yet  cold, 
and  had  to  decline  with  thanks.  The  women  gathered  some 
rice,  threshed  it,  tramped  it  in  a  large  tray  to  remove  the  husk, 
and  pounded  it  in  a  tub  with  a  wooden  stamper  four  feet  long, 
grasped  by  the  middle,  until  in  a  very  short  time  the  hulls  were 
off  and  the  rice  ready  for  the  pot.  The  pot  was  supported 
by  three  old  knives  stuck  in  the  ground  as  spits.  At  supper 
each  made  rice  into  a  ball  for  himself  with  a  wooden  ladle  and 
his  fingers,  and  reached  for  some  of  Bruin's  haunches,  broiled 
to  suit  the  taste  of  a  brave. 

The  chief's  house  was  one  large  room  fully  thirty  feet  long, 
with  a  fire  blazing  at  night  at  either  end.  Men  stood  around 
one  fire,  women  squatted  beside  the  other.  There  were  five 
beds  on  poles  along  the  walls.  The  highest  was  given  to  me, 
and  one  close  by  to  the  students.  We  had  candles  made  from 
the  heart  of  the  fir-tree,  and  as  one  burned  out  it  was  replaced 
by  another.  On  one  couch  across  the  room  lay  the  savage 
mother  with  her  sleeping  new-born  babe.  She  was  human  and 
had  the  instincts  of  a  mother ;  but  she  was  an  untutored  sav- 
age, and,  savage-like,  she  smoked  incessantly  her  long  bamboo 
pipe.  The  men  smoked,  told  stories,  and  discussed  the  chase 
and  an  expedition  to  the  border-land  to  be  undertaken  soon. 
The  women  were  busy  thread-making  on  the  spinning-jenny ; 
and  as  they  wound  the  rhea  they  laughed,  twitted  one  another, 


264  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

and  chatted  as  their  sisters  do  in  Christian  countries.  Yes, 
sisters!  for  He  made  them,  died  for  them,  and  from  the  glory 
bends  on  them  a  Brother's  eye.  We  proposed  a  song — "  one 
of  the  songs  of  Zion."  They  all  looked  and  listened  with  evi- 
dent interest.  The  aborigines  are  much  more  musical  than  the 
Chinese.  We  sang  several  hymns,  and  through  the  chief's  son, 
who  once  visited  me  at  Tamsui,  I  told  them  of  the  far-away 
home  and  of  God's  love  for  the  world.  It  was  Christmas 
night ;  and  away  there  in  a  wild  place,  where  no  white  man 
had  ever  been,  and  in  the  company  of  men  and  women  and 
little  children  who  never  before  heard  of  his  coming,  it  sent  a 
thrill  to  the  heart  to  tell  of  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem,  the  Man 
of  Nazareth  and  Calvary.  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  their 
sad  state,  and  of  the  opportunity  and  responsibility  of  the  thou- 
sands in  Christian  lands  who  on  that  very  day  took  up  the 
Christmas  carol : 

"  Hark,  the  herald  angels  sing 
Glory  to  the  new-born  King." 

These  tribes  are  continually  changing  their  headquarters. 
When  a  chief  or  the  head  of  a  family  dies  they  do  not  care  to 
remain  in  that  vicinity,  but  begin  anew  in  some  other  quarter. 
The  abandoned  site  is  soon  overgrown  by  shrubs  and  vines, 
and  only  the  absence  of  immense  trees  marks  the  place  of  their 
former  habitation.  Their  mode  of  clearing  the  forest-land  is 
rather  novel.  Climbing  the  trees,  they  lop  off  the  branches 
with  their  knives,  then  girdle  the  trunk,  and  in  time  the  storms 
lay  the  dead  trees  low.  The  land  is  afterward  cleared  for  the 
village  and  rice-fields.  Some  of  the  tribes  are  rapidly  dimin- 
ishing in  numbers  and  losing  their  independence,  and  will,  in 
course  of  time,  be  absorbed  by  the  superior  race.  Natural 
increase  does  not  keep  pace  with  the  waste.  The  hard  lot 
of  the  savage  woman  unfits  her  for  maternity,  and  makes  her 
progeny  less  able  to  endure  the  hardness  of  savage  life. 


SAVAGE  LIFE  AND   CUSTOMS  265 

One  of  the  sad  things  about  their  life  is  the  condition  of 
woman  among  them.  The  heaviest  burden  rests  upon  her. 
All  day  long  she  toils  in  the  fields,  and  at  night  carries  home 
the  fruit  of  her  work.  Then  she  goes  out  into  the  bush  and 
gathers  firewood,  returning  with  a  heavy  load  on  her  back. 
Exposure,  drudgery,  poor  food,  and  all  the  other  ills  of  her 
burdened  life  soon  tell  on  her  strength ;  the  strong,  healthy, 
finely  developed  girl  is  old  before  her  time,  and  at  an  age 
when  her  civilized  sister  is  in  her  prime  she  is  worn,  haggard, 
and  utterly  repulsive  in  her  decrepit  ugliness.  Centuries  of 
civilization  and  the  influence  of  Christianity  would  equalize  the 
burden  of  men  and  women,  and  teach  those  idle  braves  that 
the  weaker  sex  is  not  the  beast  of  burden  for  the  lords  of  the 
tribe.  Whatever  new  burdens  might  be  imposed  by  the  sharper 
struggle  for  existence  in  a  more  highly  organized  and  compli- 
cated state  of  society,  they  could  scarcely  be  more  cruel  or 
crushing  than  those  that  make  a  savage  woman's  life  too  dreary 
for  pleasure  and  too  unromantic  for  tragedy. 

As  yet  our  missionary  work  among  the  savages  is  little  more 
than  skirmishing.  Occasional  tours  to  their  villages  may  do 
something — have,  indeed,  done  something — for  their  benighted 
souls.  But  we  do  not  call  that  mission  work,  and  at  present 
it  seems  difficult  to  do  more.  No  missionary  from  the  West 
could  live  long  in  the  mountains,  so  great  is  the  rainfall,  and 
so  ruinous  to  health.  The  multiplicity  of  dialects  presents  an- 
other obstacle.  A  native  may  yet  be  raised  up  to  carry  the 
gospel  to  his  fellows.  Till  then  we  hope  to  do  what  may  be 
done  by  such  methods  as  are  within  our  reach.  Several  of  the 
chapels  in  the  border-land  are  attended  by  savages  with  more 
or  less  regularity.  We  keep  in  constant  touch  with  them,  and 
under  ordinary  circumstances  have  no  fear  of  personal  violence ; 
but  all  attempts  to  evangelize  them  must,  for  the  present  gen- 
eration at  least,  meet  seemingly  insuperable  obstacles.  The 
blankness  of  their  moral  life,  the  blindness  of  their  spiritual 


266  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

vision,  the  deadness — not  absence — of  their  receptive  faculties, 
make  the  effort  to  move  them  with  the  dynamic  of  truth  a 
seemingly  hopeless  task.  Add  to  this  the  extreme  hardness  of 
their  lot,  the  keenness  of  life's  struggle,  the  barrenness  of  life's 
outlook,  and,  most  of  all,  take  account  of  the  utterly  damning 
effect  of  intoxicants  introduced  by  the  wily  Chinese  trader,  for 
which,  when  once  awakened,  the  savage  thirst  is  insatiable. 
Facing  a  conspiracy  of  such  resisting  and  demoralizing  forces, 
mission  work  indeed  seems  hopeless.  But  the  obstacles  are 
only  seemingly  insuperable';  the  task  is  only  seemingly  hope- 
less. The  gospel  has  brought  light  to  the  savage  mind.  Men 
and  women  have  believed  and  been  made  free.  Their  fiercest 
passions  have  been  tamed,  their  deadliest  lusts  curbed  and 
sanctified.  Some  are  still  fighting  life's  winning  battle  among 
their  native  mountains ;  some  have  gone  to  the  better  world. 
With  confidence  I  look  forward  to  meeting  in  the  land  of  the 
hereafter  one  and  another  who  first  heard  of  God  and  heaven 
around  the  gleaming  night  fires  in  the  forests  of  Formosa. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 

WITH    THE    HEAD-HUNTERS 

Their  ruling  passion — Probable  origin — Hereditary  hatred  of  Chinese — 
Pe-po-hoan  a  traitor — By  nature  a  hunter — Head-hunter's  outfit — 
Planning  a  raid — Attack  by  daylight — Under  cover  of  night — Return 
of  the  victors — A  head-hunting  feast — Disposing  of  the  head — A 
fight  with  Chinese — Failure — In  Chinese  hands — Vengeance — Be- 
trayed by  kinsmen — After  British  "  blue-jackets  " 

HEAD-HUNTING  is  the  ruling  passion  among  the  sav- 
ages in  Formosa.  This  is  the  one  crime  of  violence  laid 
to  their  charge.  To  this,  as  to  nothing  else,  they  give  them- 
selves from  earliest  youth  to  decrepit  age,  following  it  with  an 
ardor  that  never  cools  and  a  cruelty  that  never  relents.  The 
deer  and  the  boar  may  lose  their  power  to  stir  the  old  chief  to 
enthusiasm,  but  to  his  dying  day  his  right  hand  never  loses  its 
cunning ;  and  to  see  his  braves  return  with  the  spoils  of  a  head- 
hunting raid  is  as  life  to  his  bones.  The  last  desire  of  the 
dying  is  that  his  sons  may  prove  worthy  of  their  sire  and  by 
stealthy  step  and  certain  thrust  add  to  the  trophies  of  the  tribe. 
Hideous  and  gruesome  as  this  passion  appears  to  all  civilized 
peoples,  it  must  not  be  taken  as  incompatible  with  the  coexis- 
tence of  moral  qualities  not  always  found,  or  found  but  feebly 
developed,  in  other  savage  or  half-civilized  races.  As  has 
already  been  said,  in  several  points  of  morality  these  mountain 
savages  will  compare  favorably  with  other  and  higher  races. 
Like  their  nearest  of  kin,  the  Hill  Dyaks  of  Borneo,  whom  they 
resemble  with  significant  closeness  in  most  of  their  distinctive 

267 


268  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

features  of  character  and  in  their  customs  and  habits  of  life, 
they  are  truthful  and  honest  to  a  remarkable  degree  ;  and  gross 
immorality,  when  found  among  them,  is  nearly  always  trace- 
able to  border-land  association  with  the  Chinese. 

Head-hunting  may  be  traced  back  to  the  petty  village  and 
tribal  wars;  and  as  life  has  no  sacredness  in  the  eyes  of  the 
savage,  and  an  enemy  has  no  rights,  it  became  simply  a  ques- 
tion of  mode  as  to  how  their  enemies  should  be  put  to  death 
and  some  wrongs  atoned  for.  The  bringing  back  of  the  head 
was  regarded  as  satisfactory  evidence — a  kind  of  medical  cer- 
tificate— that  the  sentence  of  the  tribe  had  been  carried  out. 
When  hostilities  became  fixed,  and  certain  tribes  or  races  were 
regarded  as  unforgivable  enemies,  a  premium  was  put  upon 
their  heads,  and  the  brave  who  showed  most  skill  was  counted 
worthy  of  greatest  honor  and  made  head  man  of  his  village  or 
chief  of  his  tribe.  So  it  may  have  come  about — at  all  events 
it  has  come  about — that  the  hill  savages  of  Formosa  look  upon 
the  enemy  of  their  tribes  as  a  mark  for  their  spears,  and  his 
head  as  specially  designed  to  ornament  their  huts. 

These  aboriginal  inhabitants  held  the  island  to  be  theirs  by 
the  right  of  centuries  of  possession ;  and  when  the  Chinese 
came  they  were  regarded  as  intruders,  who  would  not  respect 
native  rights.  The  Chinese  justified  every  suspicion,  and  shrank 
from  nothing  that  would  give  them  possession  of  the  land. 
The  natives  were  driven  back  into  the  mountains,  their  liber- 
ties curtailed,  and  their  life  molested.  The  Chinese,  therefore, 
became  the  hated  enemy  of  the  savage,  and  to  avenge  the 
wrong  of  his  tribe  not  only  merited  applause  from  men  and 
maidens  still  living,  but  won  the  approval  of  ancestral  braves, 
whose  spirits,  watching  the  fortunes  of  the  tribes,  had  powers 
for  weal  or  woe,  and  would  surely  punish  the  family  whose 
sons  held  back  from  the  work  of  vengeance. 

While  the  Chinese  are  hated  with  the  intensest  hatred,  and 
their  heads  prized  as  trophies  of  highest  price,  the  savages  have 


WITH    THE  Hi: AD-HUNTERS  269 

no  tenderness  of  feeling  for  their  kindred  who  have  acknow- 
ledged Chinese  authority.  The  various  tribes  of  conquered 
aborigines  in  the  plains  are  looked  upon  as  traitors,  and  when 
opportunity  offers  they  are  made  to  pay  the  penalty.  A  Chi- 
nese head  may  be  a  first  prize,  but  the  chance  of  a  Pe-po-hoan 
is  never  missed.  Indeed,  it  would  almost  seem  that  the  treason 
of  those  who  have  yielded  to  the  oppressor  inspires  a  bitterer 
hate. 

The  savage  is  by  nature  a  hunter.  He  has  the  instincts, 
the  senses,  and  the  hardy  endurance  required.  He  knows  the 
haunts  and  habits  of  game.  He  can  wait  long  and  follow  far. 
His  foot  is  soft,  his  aim  sure,  and  into  the  chase  he  throws  all 
the  passion  of  his  soul.  When  the  game  is  human,  not  animal, 
there  is  added  zest  in  the  chase,  and  his  vengeful  hate  suffers 
not  his  energies  to  flag.  No  sleuth-hound  is  truer  to  the  scent, 
no  tiger  is  stealthier  of  foot.  Everything  is  planned  before- 
hand. For  weeks,  perhaps  months,  back  of  all  other  thoughts 
is  the  prospective  raid.  From  some  ambush  on  the  hilltop  the 
movements  of  the  fated  victims  on  the  plain  are  watched. 
What  time  the  farmers  come  and  go,  when  the  rice  will  be 
reaped  or  the  vegetables  dug,  when  the  fishermen  leave  home 
and  when  they  return,  who  among  the  country  people  go  into 
town,  what  the  defensive  strength  of  a  village  is,  where  and 
when  the  raid  could  best  be  made — all  this  the  scouts  know 
long  before  the  appointed  day  arrives. 

The  outfit  of  a  head-hunter  is  simple.  The  necessary  things 
are  a  spear,  knife,  and  bag.  The  spear  is  of  bamboo,  about 
twenty  feet  long,  with  an  iron  arrow-shaped  head  eight  inches 
long.  This  is  light,  strong,  and  easily  used,  and  always  car- 
ried in  the  hands.  The  knife  is  of  iron,  eighteen  inches  long, 
sharp-pointed,  and  generally  crooked,  with  a  one-sided  open 
hardwood  sheath.  This  knife  is  always  in  the  savage's  belt, 
and  the  belt  is  always  worn.  The  bag  is  of  strong  twisted 
rhea-cord,  open  like  a  net,  carried  over  the  shoulders  with 


270  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

strings  tied  round  the  neck,  and  capable  of  holding  two  or 
three  heads.  Every  head-hunter  has  the  spear,  knife,  and  bag. 
Sometimes  bow  and  arrows  are  taken,  and  occasionally  a 
matchlock  gun. 

Always  on  the  lookout  for  Chinese,  they  will  attack  them 
anywhere  and  at  any  time,  should  the  opportunity  be  favor- 
able. But  should  a  month  or  two  go  by  without  a  head  being 
brought  to  the  village  they  become  restless  and  unhappy.  The 
old-time  passion  begins  to  burn,  and  arrangements  are  made 
for  a  head-hunting  expedition.  The  chief  calls  his  council 
braves  together,  the  matter  is  talked  over,  and  proposals  con- 
sidered. The  raid  having  been  settled  on  and  preliminaries 
arranged,  the  hunters  then  look  to  their  weapons.  As  many 
as  fifty  sometimes  join  the  expedition ;  but  when  they  come 
near  the  border  territory,  where  the  Chinese  may  be  seen,  they 
divide  into  small  companies  under  the  guide  of  the  oldest  and 
bravest. 

Sometimes  they  start  out  during  the  day,  in  which  case  the 
savages  go  singly.  They  know  where  and  when  their  victims 
may  be  found,  and  rely  more  on  the  surprised  attack  and  sud- 
den thrust  than  on  the  skill  or  strength  of  open  combat.  With 
all  his  daring  the  savage  is  at  heart  a  coward,  "bold  in  am- 
bush, base  in  open  field."  He  watches  from  behind  a  boulder 
or  bush  until  his  victim  is  within  spear-thrust,  when  suddenly 
and  without  warning  he  strikes  the  blow ;  or  he  creeps  up  be- 
hind the  unguarded  workman  and  takes  him  unawares.  This 
is  his  method  with  the  rattan  and  camphor  workers  in  the  for- 
est. The  rattan  industry  is  very  extensively  carried  on  by  the 
Chinese,  and  many  woodmen  are  employed.  The  rattan  grows 
sometimes  to  the  length  of  five  hundred  feet,  creeping  vine- 
like over  other  plants  and  above  the  branches  of  trees.  The 
workman  cuts  the  stalk  near  the  root,  and,  going  backward, 
pulls  it  out  of  the  entanglement  like  a  long  rope.  While  he  is 
so  engaged  the  savage  creeps  up  and  thrusts  him  through  with 


WITH   THE  HEAD-HUNTERS  271 

his  long  spear.  Camphor-working  is  equally  dangerous.  The 
Chinese  chip  the  trunks  of  the  camphor-tree  with  a  short  adz, 
on  their  knees  or  bending  over  all  the  while.  That  is  the 
hunter's  chance,  and  many  a  Chinese  head  is  off  before  its 
owner  has  time  to  turn  around.  The  farmers  are  exposed  to 
danger  in  their  fields  near  the  mountains.  Often  the  face  of 
a  hill  is  cleared  and  planted,  while  the  top  and  opposite  side 
are  still  bush.  The  savages  are  concealed  in  the  bush,  and 
having  observed  the  coming  and  going  of  men  and  women  to 
the  potato-patch,  watch  their  chance,  and  before  the  alarm 
can  be  given  the  deed  is  done.  The  head-hunter  frequently 
conceals  himself  beside  lonely  paths  through  fields  of  reeds, 
tall  grass  in  the  plains,  or  at  the  mouth  of  a  mountain  gorge 
near  the  sea.  Then  he  waits  the  coming  of  some  solitary 
traveler,  and  the  first  warning  of  danger  is  the  last  thrust  of 
the  spear.  In  such  ways  head-hunting  is  carried  on  in  the 
daylight,  and  in  a  surprisingly  short  time  the  hunter  is  back 
again  in  the  security  of  the  forest,  with  the  proof  of  his  skill 
in  the  rhea-net  on  his  shoulder.  A  wild  yell  gives  the  signal 
to  his  village,  and  in  the  plain  below  friends  are  beginning  to 
wonder  what  is  keeping  husband  or  father — he  never  was  so 
late  before. 

But  night  is  the  favorite  time  for  the  head-hunter.  Then 
the  men  go  in  companies.  Their  plan  is  to  select  a  house 
standing  apart  and  to  surround  it,  making  a  wide  circle,  and 
gradually  closing  in  until  at  a  signal  the  attack  is  made.  Some- 
times one  creeps  up  and  sets  fire  to  the  dry  thatch  of  the  roof, 
and  when  the  inmates  are  aroused  and  rush  out  they  are  in- 
stantly speared,  their  heads  thrust  into  the  bags,  and  in  a  mo- 
ment not  a  sound  is  heard  but  the  crackling  of  the  burning 
embers.  If  there  is  no  reason  for  such  haste,  the  hunters  first 
secure  the  door,  then  thrust  damp  grass  smudges  through  the 
chinks  and  openings,  smoke  the  inmates  to  suffocation,  and 
then  secure  their  heads.     This  is  safe  only  when  a  house  is  in 


272  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

a  lonely  place,  where  there  is  no  danger  of  relief  from  neigh- 
bors. Failing  to  find  a  house  to  their  liking,  the  hunters  will 
take  account  of  any  theatrical  performance  in  town,  or  other 
attraction  that  may  be  depended  on  to  draw  the  country 
people  and  detain  them  until  a  late  hour.  Stragglers  are  never 
safe  on  these  roads  at  night.  Or,  failing  in  this,  they  lie  in 
wait  for  the  farmers  and  their  men,  who  go  to  the  harvest- 
field  early  in  the  morning  and  return  when  the  light  has  failed 
in  the  evening.  A  man  or  woman  bent  over  the  hoe  all  day, 
or  trudging  in  the  rice- field,  is  not  always  on  the  alert,  and 
proves  an  easy  mark.  The  women  and  children  in  the  fishing- 
villages  are  always  afraid  for  the  terrors  of  the  night ;  and  men 
never  know,  when  they  push  off  in  the  evening,  but  that  their 
loved  ones  will  have  fallen  victims  to  the  cruel  savages  before 
they  return ;  for  on  the  mountains  behind  the  village  the  sav- 
age spies  are  taking  note  of  all. 

The  heads  having  been  secured,  the  hunters  return  with  all 
haste  to  the  village.  When  on  the  peak  of  the  nearest  moun- 
tain they  shout  their  wild  whoop  of  victory.  The  villagers 
have  been  waiting,  and  when  that  yell  is  heard  a  party  is  sent 
out  to  meet  the  braves  and  escort  them  home.  All  the  village 
is  out  of  doors.  Old  men  and  women,  youths  and  maidens, 
the  youngest  child  in  the  settlement,  even  the  very  dogs,  all 
know  the  meaning  of  the  yell,  and  go  wild  with  excitement. 
They  are  all  on  the  way  to  welcome  home  the  heroes.  Such 
shouting,  shrieking,  and  demon-like  howls!  The  dogs  seem 
as  though  they  were  made  for  nothing  but  yelping  on  that  one 
occasion.  The  hunters  recite  their  experiences — how  they  es- 
caped detection,  how  they  did  the  deed,  perhaps  what  wounds 
they  got  in  the  fray.  Everything  is  told  with  many  gesticula- 
tions, and  every  point  is  greeted  with  fresh  demonstrations  of 
delight. 

In  due  time  the  hunting-party  reaches  the  chiefs  house,  and 
the  spoils  are  exposed  to  inspection  and  further  jubilation.    If 


WITH   THE  HEAD-HUNTERS  273 

there  be  more  than  one  head  the  joy  of  the  village  knows  no 
bounds ;  but  one  is  sufficient  to  call  out  all  the  fiendish  noises 
that  men  or  devils  could  well  desire.  The  head  is  placed  in 
the  middle  room,  or,  if  the  crowd  be  too  large,  in  an  open 
space  outside.  Beside  it  is  set  a  vessel  with  liquor  distilled 
from  the  mountain-rice  ;  this  is  for  the  spirit  so  rudely  surprised 
out  of  its  body,  and  in  return  it  is  asked  to  put  the  hunters  in 
the  way  of  securing  other  Chinese  heads.  A  circle  is  formed 
round  the  head,  all  joining  hands — old  hags  with  girls  of  six- 
teen, boys  of  ten  with  men  of  seventy.  An  old  man  carries 
a  hollowed  gourd-shell  full  of  liquor,  and  with  a  bamboo  cup 
supplies  old  and  young.  They  all  drink,  and  the  liquor,  which 
is  mildly  intoxicating,  adds  to  the  excitement.  Round  and 
round  the  head  they  circle,  dancing  a  sort  of  double  step,  the 
braves  leaping  and  yelling,  the  shrill  voices  of  the  children 
mingling  with  the  broken-voiced  utterances  of  their  grand- 
mothers, who  are  the  most  hideous  and  excited  of  all,  and 
over  all  the  old  chief  urging  on  his  tribe  to  fresh  manifestations 
of  delight  and  gratitude.  All  the  while  a  wild  bacchanalian 
song  is  chanted,  the  sound  of  which  is  like  nothing  outside  the 
caverns  of  perdition.  No  alphabet  I  know  can  be  so  arranged 
as  to  represent  such  sounds.  The  nearest  approach  to  spell- 
ing the  song  I  heard  in  the  village  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Sylvia 
would  be  "Hi-yah;  hi-yeh ;  hi-yo-heigh! "  That  begun  low 
and  ending  in  a  high  nasal  screech,  with  many  reduplications, 
and  punctuated  with  many  fiendish  yells,  might  give  some 
idea  of  the  song  of  the  savage  at  a  head-hunting  feast.  The 
meaning  of  the  song  is  that  they  are  rejoicing  now  over  their 
enemy,  and  are  grateful  for  the  head  brought  back  by  their 
braves. 

This  demonstration  is  kept  up  all  night  and  until  the  third 
day.  Should  any  get  dizzy  with  the  dance,  or  drunk  with  the 
liquor,  their  places  are  given  to  others,  and  they  given  time  to 
recruit.     On  the  third  day  the  head  is  finally  disposed  of.     In 


274  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

this  the  tribes  differ.  One  sets  up  a  tripod  of  poles  in  the 
village,  with  the  head  on  the  top.  Others  leave  it  exposed 
till  the  flesh  drops  off.  Only  rarely  is  the  head  boiled  and 
the  flesh  eaten ;  but  it  is  common  enough  to  boil  the  brain  to 
a  jelly  and  eat  it  with  vengeful  relish.  They  offered  it  to  me 
as  a  rare  treat. 

When  the  flesh  has  been  removed  the  skull  is  hung  up  as  a 
trophy  to  be  prized,  sometimes  on  the  wall  inside,  oftenest  out- 
side under  the  eaves.  The  brave  who  can  exhibit  the  longest 
row  of  skulls  is  the  envy  of  the  tribe.  Every  house  has  this 
decoration,  and  the  chief's  looks  like  the  museum  of  an  anato- 
my specialist.  They  are  never  taken  down,  and  the  smoke 
and  rain  of  years  only  adds  to  the  ghastliness  of  the  sight. 
The  cue  is  always  hung  up  on  the  wall  inside.  I  have  more 
than  once,  during  hours  of  sleeplessness,  counted  the  skulls 
and  cues  in  a  savage's  house  and  thought  of  all  that  passion 
meant  to  them  and  to  sorrowing  families  out  in  the  plains.  I 
cannot  say  that  I  dreaded  a  like  fate,  or  that  those  ugly  evi- 
dences of  cruelty  kept  sleep  away  or  made  sleep  miserable 
with  fearful  dreams. 

Far  inland  from  Toa-kho-ham  there  is  a  Chinese  settlement 
and  trading-post,  where  in  1877  I  witnessed  a  fight  between 
the  settlers  and  a  band  of  two  dozen  head-hunters.  The  band 
had  divided  into  two  companies  and  attacked  different  points. 
One  company  had  already  secured  their  prize  and  were  mak- 
ing their  escape  with  three  heads.  The  other  party  had  sur- 
rounded the  camp  in  which  we  were,  but  the  yells  of  their 
comrades  alarmed  us  and  we  rushed  out  in  time  to  resist  at- 
tack. A  few  moments  more  our  stockade  would  have  been 
burned  and  the  inmates  beheaded.  The  alarm  was  now 
sounded  and  the  entire  settlement  was  in  hot  pursuit.  The 
savages  fled  beyond  the  cleared  land,  reunited  their  forces, 
then  turned  viciously  upon  their  pursuers.  A  battle  ensued. 
It  was  a  wild  and  bloody  scene.     Both  sides  were  armed,  but 


WITH   THE  HEAD-HUNTERS  275 

the  rapidity  with  which  the  savages  dropped  on  their  backs, 
lifted  one  foot,  steadied  their  leveled  matchlocks  between 
their  toes,  and  fired  was  something  marvelous.  Leaping,  fir- 
ing, yelling  all  the  while  like  demons,  these  bloodthirsty  Malay- 
ans held  their  ground  for  nearly  an  hour.  But  the  Chinese 
were  no  cowards,  and  at  last,  fearless  of  death,  dashed  forward 
and  drove  the  savages  back  into  their  mountain  retreats. 

Should  the  head-hunting  expedition  end  in  failure  the  braves 
are  utterly  ashamed,  and  in  some  tribes  dare  not  return  to  their 
own  village  for  three  days.  Failure  is  in  any  case  a  disgrace, 
and  they  take  care  to  fail  but  seldom.  But  should  one  of  their 
number  be  caught  or  killed,  then  there  is  wild  lamentation  in 
the  tribe,  and  the  fatal  place  is  shunned  for  years. 

And  woe  to  the  head-hunter  that  falls  into  the  hands  of  the 
Chinese.  The  mercy  he  has  shown  is  meted  out  to  him.  At 
Sa-kiet-a-koe,  a  Chinese  city  of  sixteen  thousand  inhabitants 
in  the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain,  I  witnessed  a  scene  illustrative  alike 
of  the  character  of  both  races.  A  month  before,  at  a  Chinese 
house  a  mile  out  of  the  city,  where  many  were  assembled  at 
night  for  idolatrous  worship,  one  came  in  and  reported  a  mys- 
terious stirring  among  the  stalks  of  hemp  outside.  Savages 
were  at  once  suspected,  and  the  men  armed  themselves  with 
guns  and  other  weapons  and  started  in  pursuit.  The  savages 
fled.  Five  were  killed,  five  escaped  to  the  bush,  one  sought 
refuge  in  a  tree ;  but  the  dogs  traced  him,  and  he  was  taken 
prisoner,  brought  to  the  city,  and  imprisoned.  He  was  kept 
in  ignorance  of  his  fate  until  on  the  appointed  day  he  was  led 
to  the  execution  ground  near  the  military  mandarin's  yamen. 
People  crowded  about  in  large  numbers.  Two  executioners 
arrived,  each  with  a  heavy  broadsword  about  two  feet  in  length. 
Men  and  boys  stood  around  feeling  the  weapons  and  remark- 
ing on  their  worth.  The  third  gun  sounded,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  twenty  soldiers  with  musty  Remington  rifles  came 
hurriedly  along.     Behind  them  two  coolies  carried  the  miser- 


276  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

able  creature  in  an  open,  shattered  sedan-chaii.  A  bamboo 
stick,  holding  a  paper  with  written  characters  stating  the  crime 
for  which  he  was  to  die,  was  stuck  through  his  hair  and  down 
his  back,  inside  the  cords  which  bound  his  hands  behind  him, 
and  extended  two  feet  above  his  head.  When  the  chair  was 
dropped  the  wretch  crouched  and  had  to  be  dragged  out.  His 
face  was  horribly  contorted  and  the  very  picture  of  despair 
and  cowardly  fear.  He  crouched  for  a  moment,  then  fell  for- 
ward. One  blow  was  struck  from  behind,  then  the  other  exe- 
cutioner advanced  and  sawed  the  head  off  with  his  large  blade. 
The  head  was  tied  to  a  bamboo  pole  and  carried  away  to  be 
put  up  on  the  west  gate.  Scores  were  there  on  purpose  to  get 
parts  of  the  body  for  food  and  medicine.  Under  such  circum- 
stances, or  if  a  savage  is  killed  inland,  the  heart  is  eaten,  flesh 
taken  off  in  strips,  and  bones  boiled  to  a  jelly  and  preserved 
as  a  specific  for  malarial  fever. 

Sometimes  the  savages  are  taken  by  the  treachery  of  their 
kinsmen,  the  Pe-po-hoan.  One  famous  old  chief  was  on  the 
top  of  a  mountain  with  a  band  of  twenty-four  braves,  when 
he  was  beckoned  by  a  party  of  Pe-po-hoan  to  approach  and 
drink  one  another's  health.  After  much  hesitation  the  savages 
came ;  but  hardly  had  the  liquor  been  tasted  when  the  crafty 
design  was  revealed  and  the  savages  attacked.  After  a  des- 
perate hand-to-hand  struggle  the  men  escaped,  but  the  chief 
was  taken  a  prisoner.  He  was  handed  over  to  the  Chinese 
authorities,  who  gave  a  reward  to  his  captors.  After  being 
imprisoned,  beaten,  tortured,  he  was  dragged  through  the 
streets,  and  women  rushed  forward,  thrusting  long  needles 
into  his  flesh  by  way  of  avenging  the  death  of  their  husbands, 
sons,  and  friends.  When  the  signal  was  given  for  him  to 
kneel,  with  diabolical  glee  he  said  he  was  not  ashamed  to  die, 
for  at  his  house  on  the  mountains  was  a  row  of  Chinese  heads 
lacking  only  six  of  completing  the  hundred,  every  one  the 
prize  of  his  own  daring  skill.     Around  him  were  several  Chi- 


WITH   THE  HEAD-HUNTERS  277 

nese  border-men  who  had  adopted  the  cannibalism  of  the  sav- 
ages, and  these  cut  away  the  skull  and  ate  the  brains,  in  the 
hope  that  they  too  would  be  brave  like  the  chief  whom  they 
so  greatly  feared. 

The  savages  do  not  scruple  to  take  the  heads  of  foreigners, 
and  sometimes  those  who  are  unacquainted  with  the  shores 
have  narrow  escapes.  In  1876  I  was  invited  on  board  H.  B.  M. 
ship  "  Lapwing "  as  the  guest  of  Lieutenant  Shore,  now 
commander  of  the  Coast  Guards  of  England,  and  went  for  a 
sail  down  the  east  coast  of  the  island.  At  So  Bay  the  great 
man-of-war  stood  at  anchor,  and  two  dozen  of  the  blue-jackets 
got  leave  to  go  ashore.  They  were  told  off  under  charge  of 
navigating  officer  Murray,  and  soon  had  a  fire  kindled  on  the 
rocks  and  were  out  with  their  drag-net  for  fish.  I  accompanied 
the  officer,  and  was  strolling  along  the  beach.  Suddenly  a 
Chinese  rushed  up  to  me,  pointed  his  finger  toward  some 
boulders  near  the  water,  and  without  speaking  disappeared.  I 
looked  in  the  direction  indicated,  and  a  few  yards  away  saw 
objects  moving  toward  us.  They  were  the  head-hunters,  with 
their  eyes  on  the  blue-jackets,  creeping  stealthily,  like  so  many 
tigers,  until  they  would  be  within  reach.  Without  giving  any 
reason  I  had  the  fire  moved  to  another  spot.  This  told  the 
savages  that  they  were  discovered,  and  they  vanished  into  the 
darkness.  Had  they  not  been  detected  they  would  certainly 
have  succeeded  in  their  designs,  and  in  the  night  could  not 
have  been  overtaken.  The  blue-jackets  returned  with  the  fish, 
broiled  them  on  the  hot  stones,  ate  them  with  relish,  and  not 
until  their  jollification  was  over  and  we  were  safely  back  on 
board  were  they  made  aware  of  their  danger. 

Many  other  incidents  might  be  told,  but  the  foregoing  will 
illustrate  the  kind  of  life  the  savages  live,  and  will  suggest 
something  of  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  all  effort  to  make 
mild  a  savage  people  and  "  subdue  them  to  the  useful  and  the 
good." 


AT  HEADQUARTERS 


279 


CHAPTER   XXIX 


A    SKETCH    OF    TAMSUI 


Nearing  port — Up  the  river — The  mission  buildings — The  town — Pop- 
ulation— Industries — Hospital 

SAILING  northward  from  Hong  Kong,  through  the  For- 
mosa Channel,  on  the  left  is  seen  the  mainland  of  China. 
At  Amoy  we  turn  eastward,  and,  crossing  the  channel,  the 
vessel  steers  for  the  harbor  at  the  port  of  Tamsui.  If  it  is 
high  tide  she  glides  smoothly  over  the  sand-bar  that  guards 
the  entrance ;  if  low  tide,  anchor  must  be  dropped.  From 
the  upper  deck  of  our  steamer  lying  at  anchor  we  get  a  bird's- 
eye  view  of  Tamsui.  Before  us,  looking  eastward,  in  the 
background,  stretching  north  and  south,  and  rising  tier  above 
tier  in  stately  grandeur,  are  those  massive  mountain-ranges 
left  by  tremendous  volcanic  upheavals  of  past  ages,  and  now 
clad  in  perennial  verdure.  Here  and  there  on  their  sloping 
sides  are  seen  patches  of  tea-plantations.  Farther  down,  and 
interspersed  with  trees  and  grasses,  lie  the  rich  green  rice  ter- 
races. No  fences,  no  straight  lines,  no  precise  measurements, 
but  leveled  fields  of  every  size  and  shape,  edged  with  green, 
and  forming  a  regular  descent,  each  distinct  and  lower  than 
the  other,  down  through  the  valleys  almost  to  the  sea-shore. 

At  last  out  swings  the  signal.  Up  comes  the  anchor,  and 
with  leisurely  dignity  our  vessel  heads  forward  into  the  mouth 
of  the  Tamsui  River.  On  the  south,  at  our  right  as  we  enter, 
lies  Quan-yin  Mountain,  seventeen  hundred  feet  high,  covered 

281 


282  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

with  tall  grass,  groves  of  bamboo,  banian  and  fir  trees.  Nest- 
ling at  its  feet  are  villages  and  farm-houses,  almost  concealed 
under  ancient  spreading  banians,  swaying  willows,  and  prickly 
screw-pine  hedges.  There,  too,  at  times  buried  in  several 
feet  of  water,  lies  a  mud-bank,  where  oyster-beds  have  been 
arranged.  To  the  left  is  a  low  stretch  of  sea-sand  bounded 
by  black  volcanic  rocks  and  broken  coral,  where  women  and 
children  are  gathering  oysters  and  seaweed.  There,  among 
the  drift  of  sand,  stands  "the  black  beacon,"  and  a  little 
farther  on  "  the  white  beacon  " ;  then  a  fishing-village,  with 
boats  drawn  up  on  the  beach,  and  rows  of  nets  hanging  out 
to  dry.  There  is  a  battered  Chinese  fort,  and  up  the  hill  just 
behind  it  another  fort,  with  modern  massive  earthworks,  con- 
cealing guns  and  soldiers. 

Going  slowly  on,  we  pass  low  whitewashed  buildings — 
Chinese  customs  offices,  with  their  European  residents.  But 
here  the  hill  rises  abruptly  two  hundred  feet,  and  on  its  face 
stands  a  tall,  red,  weather-worn,  solid-looking  structure,  the 
old  Dutch  fort,  now  the  British  consulate ;  and  there  from  its 
height  floats  the  flag  of  world-wide  empire.  Beneath  its 
shadow,  surrounded  by  well-kept  gardens,  is  the  handsome 
residence  of  the  British  consul.  And  there,  just  opposite  us, 
right  on  the  summit  of  the  hill,  surrounded  by  avenues  of 
trees,  are  those  two  red,  airy,  and  artistic-looking  buildings  that 
we  espied  far  out  at  sea,  and  that  present  a  style  of  architec- 
ture different  from  anything  seen  in  any  of  the  treaty  ports 
of  China.  They  are  Oxford  College  and  the  Girls'  School — 
the  mission  buildings  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada. 
Near  them,  and  almost  hidden  by  trees,  are  two  white  dwell- 
ing-houses occupied  by  the  missionaries.  These  are  one  story 
high,  with  tiled  cottage  roofs  and  thick  whitewashed  walls,  and 
are  called  bungalows.  Farther  on  stand  two  other  bunga- 
lows— one,  a  little  in  the  rear,  for  the  customs  secretary,  and 
the  other,  on  a  line  with  the  mission  buildings,  occupied  by 


A   SKETCH  OF   TAMSUI  283 

the  foreign  commissioner  of  the  Chinese  imperial  customs. 
From  there  a  Chinese  graveyard  slopes  down  to  a  gully,  where 
a  small  stream  runs  and  empties  itself  into  the  river  in  front. 
Right  there  begins  the  town  of  Tamsui,  and  it  extends  along 
the  low  bank  of  the  river  and  the  face  of  the  hill  at  the  back. 

The  Chinese  do  not  call  the  town  by  the  name  Tamsui ; 
that  is  the  name  of  the  district  in  which  it  stands.  They  call 
the  town  "  Ho-be."  The  consular  papers  call  it  "  Tamsuy." 
Foreigners  mistook  the  name  of  the  district  for  that  of  the 
town. 

The  population  of  Tamsui  is  6148,  with  1013  families.  Just 
here  it  might  be  explained  that  the  Chinese  in  North  Formosa, 
in  giving  the  population  of  a  town,  invariably  include  all  the 
villages  and  surrounding  country  coming  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  town  magistrate.  Thus,  in  the  case  of  Tamsui,  there 
are  four  such  villages:  Sio-pi-teng,  with  a  population  of  73; 
Sin-tsng-a,  with  a  population  of  1 1 1 2  ;  Sio-pat-li-hun,  with  a 
population  of  1580  ;  Sio-koe-lang-a,  with  a  population  of  1320. 
The  whole  population  of  Tamsui,  therefore,  according  to  the 
Chinese  method  of  reckoning,  is  10,233. 

Tamsui  is  a  busy  enough  place.  Like  other  towns,  its 
market  is  crowded  with  fishermen,  farmers,  gardeners,  and 
hucksters,  noisily  disputing  over  their  wares.  Rice-shops, 
opium-dens,  Chinese  temples,  and  drug-stores,  side  by  side, 
claim  patronage,  and  carpenters,  blacksmiths,  barbers,  and 
chair-coolies  ply  their  trades.  But  it  is,  on  the  whole,  rather 
a  smoky,  dirty  town,  not  particularly  noted  for  anything  but  its 
shipping-trade,  and  that  it  is  one  of  the  treaty  ports  where 
foreigners  can  hold  property.  This  is  really  what  gives  it  its 
importance. 

Close  by  the  chief  thoroughfare  stands  the  MacKay  Hos- 
pital. From  a  sanitary  view,  no  building  could  be  better  sit- 
uated, because  the  ravine,  with  its  unfailing  stream  of  water, 
sweeps  around  three  sides  of  it.     All  filth  and  garbage  are 


284 


FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 


immediately  carried  away.  To  this  institution  patients  come 
from  miles  inland,  and  are  treated  for  various  diseases.  Just 
adjoining  the  hospital  are  the  chapel  and  the  preacher's  dwell- 
ing-place. Only  a  few  rods  away  are  the  steamship  company's 
hongs.  To  the  east  stands  the  North  Hill  (Tai-tun),  thirty- 
one  hundred  feet  high ;  and  away  northeast,  with  its  head 
toward  heaven,  stands  the  highest  peak,  thirty-six  hundred  feet 
above  the  sea. 


CHAPTER   XXX 

TRAINING    A    NATIVE    MINISTRY 

The  dominant  idea — Reasons  for  a  native  ministry — An  educated  ministry 
— First  college — Methods  of  work — The  missionary's  museum — 
"  Cui  bono  ?  " 

MISSION  work  in  North  Formosa  is  dominated  by  the 
idea  of  a  native  ministry.  The  purpose  is  to  evangelize 
the  people,  to  enlighten  their  darkness  by  the  power  of  divine 
truth,  and  to  drive  back  the  mists  of  error  and  the  black 
clouds  of  sin  that  have  through  all  the  past  obscured  their 
vision  of  the  City  of  God.  That  is  the  purpose  of  all  foreign 
mission  work.  But  in  the  carrying  out  of  that  purpose  meth- 
ods must  be  adopted  suitable  to  the  circumstances  of  the  case. 
What  would  be  reasonable  and  effective  in  one  field  would 
be  absurd  and  useless  in  another.  What  would  succeed  in 
Europe  or  America  would  fail  in  Asia.  China  is  not  India, 
and  Formosa  is  not  China.  The  man  or  the  mission  that 
supposes  that  a  good  theory  must  be  capable  of  universal 
application,  and  that  social  forces,  hereditary  customs,  or  even 
climatic  influences  need  not  be  taken  into  account,  makes  a 
grievous  mistake. 

All  the  reasons  that  led  me  to  lay  such  emphasis  on  a  native 
ministry  in  North  Formosa  need  not  now  be  recited.  They 
had  to  do  with  the  language,  climate,  social  life  of  the  people, 
and  the  capabilities  of  the  natives  for  Christian  service.  I 
was  at  the  first  convinced  that  the  hope  of  the  mission  lay  not 

285 


286  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

in  foreign  workers,  and  every  year  only  confirms  that  opinion. 
The  Lord  of  the  harvest  has  raised  up  from  among  the  natives 
of  the  island  laborers  whose  services  in  those  white  fields  will 
not  be  fully  appreciated  until  we  and  they  shall,  at  the  harvest- 
home,  come  with  rejoicing,  bringing  our  sheaves  with  us. 

One  reason  for  a  native  ministry  that  will  be  appreciated  by 
all  practical  and  genuine  friends  of  missions  is  that  it  is  by  far 
the  most  economical,  both  as  to  men  and  money.  Natives 
can  live  in  a  climate  and  under  conditions  where  any  foreigner 
would  die,  and  they  can  be  hale  and  happy  where  I  would 
tremble  with  chills  and  fever.  And  the  cost  of  a  native 
preacher  and  his  family  is  so  much  less,  that  the  contributions 
of  the  churches  can  be  made  to  support  a  very  much  larger 
staff  than  if  foreigners  alone  were  employed.  It  is  much  more 
expensive  to  live  in  Formosa  than  on  the  mainland,  but  even 
with  us  the  expense  of  a  native  is  only  a  fraction  of  what  is 
absolutely  required  for  one  accustomed  to  life  in  the  West. 
The  total  cost  per  month  for  a  preacher  and  his  family  is  cov- 
ered by  nine  dollars  and  eighty-three  cents  Mexican  money — 
less  than  nine  dollars  in  gold.  The  following  table  presents 
the  average : 

Rice  per  month $3.00 

Salt  vegetables 4.00 

Coal  or  wood 1. 50 

Carrying  water  and  cleaning  rice 65 

Shaving  heads 30 

Shoes,  stockings,  and  clothes 38 

Total $9.83 

But  having  settled  on  a  native  ministry,  and  having  among 
the  first  converts  those  fitted  and  desirous  to  begin  their  stud- 
ies in  preparation  for  the  work,  the  question  of  their  training 
came  early  to  the  front.  Let  it  be  clearly  understood  that  the 
mission  stands  for  a  trained  ministry.     Whatever  good  an 


TRAINING   A   NATIVE  MINISTRY  287 

uneducated  minister  may  accomplish  in  Christian  lands,  he  is 
next  to  useless  among  the  heathen.  Be  it  foreign  or  native, 
the  ministry  that  will  command  the  respect  of  the  people  and 
will  endure  must  be  intelligent  as  well  as  zealous.  But  in  order 
to  an  educated  ministry,  great  buildings,  large  libraries,  and 
wealthy  endowments,  however  helpful  they  may  be,  are  not,  at 
the  first,  absolutely  indispensable.  As  good  work  cannot  be 
done  without  these,  but  if  the  work  done  is  genuine,  increased 
facilities  will  follow.  Our  first  college  in  North  Formosa  was 
not  the  handsome  building  that  now  overlooks  the  Tamsui 
River  and  bears  the  honored  name  of  Oxford  College,  but  out 
in  the  open  under  the  spreading  banian-tree,  with  God's  blue 
sky  as  our  vaulted  roof. 

Beginning  with  A  Hoa,  I  invariably  had  from  one  to  twenty 
students  as  my  daily  companions.  We  began  each  day's  work 
with  a  hymn  of  praise.  When  weather  permitted  we  sat  under 
a  tree — usually  the  banian  or  a  cluster  of  bamboos — and  spent 
the  day  reading,  studying,  and  examining.  In  the  evening  we 
retired  to  some  sheltered  spot,  and  I  explained  a  passage  of 
Scripture  to  the  students  and  others  gathered  with  them.  In- 
deed, wherever  night  overtook  us,  in  all  our  journeyings,  I 
spoke  on  a  part  of  God's  truth,  ever  keeping  the  students  in 
view.  They  took  notes,  studied  them,  and  were  prepared  for 
review  on  the  following  day. 

Another  favorite  resort  was  on  the  rocks  at  Kelung.  In  the 
sampan  we  placed  an  earthen  pot,  rice,  leek,  and  celery. 
Then  we  rowed  ourselves  out  to  the  tables  and  pillars  of  sand- 
stone by  the  sea.  At  noon  each  one  gathered  small  sticks  for 
a  fire  with  which  to  cook  our  food.  But  wre  often  dispensed 
with  cooking,  for  each  had  provided  himself  with  a  sharpened 
nail  with  which  to  open- the  fresh  oysters  taken  off  the  rocks. 
Study  continued  till  5  p.m.,  after  which  we  coasted  in  shallow 
water.  Several  would  plunge  in  and  bring  up  shells,  living 
coral,  seaweed,  sea-urchins,  for  study  and  examination.    Some- 


288  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

times  an  hour  was  given  to  fishing  with  hook  and  line,  for  the 
double  purpose  of  supplying  us  with  food  and  securing  speci- 
mens for  examination. 

As  chapels  were  established  we  remained  at  each  a  day, 
week,  or  month,  studying  daily  till  4  p.m.  All  were  trained  in 
singing,  speaking,  and  debating.  After  four  we  made  visita- 
tions to  converts  and  heathen  in  the  vicinity.  Students  were 
frequently  invited  to  dine  with  friends,  and  thus  they  had 
golden  opportunities  for  presenting  the  truth.  Every  evening 
a  public  service  was  held  in  the  chapel  where  we  were. 

A  fourth  method,  and  by  no  means  the  least  profitable  part 
of  their  training,  was  on  the  road  in  our  traveling  together. 
All  manner  of  subjects  were  then  discussed — the  gospel,  the 
people,  the  way  to  present  the  truth,  and  God,  the  Author  of 
all.  It  was  the  daily  habit  of  each  one,  when  on  the  road,  to 
collect  specimens  of  some  kind — plants,  flowers,  seeds,  insects, 
mud,  clay — and  then  to  examine  them  at  the  first  halting-place. 

In  all  these  ways,  during  the  early  years,  and  sometimes 
even  since  the  college  buildings  were  erected  at  Tamsui,  the 
students  were  trained  to  become  efficient  workers,  fluent  speak- 
ers, skilful  debaters,  successful  preachers.  The  college  is  now 
the  center  of  our  work,  but  whatever  helps  to  develop  the 
faculties  of  the  students,  inform  their  minds,  or  chasten  their 
hearts,  is  pressed  into  service. 

My  own  study  and  museum  in  Tamsui  are  open  to  the 
students,  and  good  use  has  been  made  of  their  resources. 
After  twenty-three  years  of  accumulation  the  study  is  well 
furnished,  having  books,  maps,  globes,  drawings,  microscopes, 
telescope,  kaleidoscope,  stereoscope,  camera,  magnets,  galvanic 
batteries  and  other  chemical  apparatus,  as  well  as  innumerable 
specimens  illustrative  of  geology,  mineralogy,  botany,  and 
zoology.  What  would  be  otherwise  a  parlor  is  in  our  house  a 
museum.  In  that  room  is  a  vast  collection  of  every  conceiv- 
able kind  of  article  of  use  or  interest  to  Chinese,  Pe-po-hoan, 


TRAINING   A   NATIVE  MINISTRY  2S9 

or  savage.  There  are  collections  of  marine  shells,  sponges, 
and  corals  of  various  kinds,  classified  and  labeled.  All  sorts 
of  serpents,  worms,  and  insects  are  preserved.  There  are  idols 
enough  to  stock  a  temple,  ancestral  tablets  and  religious  curios, 
musical  instruments,  priests'  garments,  and  all  the  stock  in 
trade  of  Chinese  idolatry,  as  well  as  models  of  implements  of 
agriculture  and  weapons  of  war.  The  various  savage  tribes 
in  the  mountains  are  well  represented.  There  is  one  idol  ten 
feet  high,  different  from  any  other  I  ever  saw,  and  a  complete 
collection  of  relics  representing  every  aspect  of  savage  life. 
Some  things  are  quaint  enough,  others  suggestive  of  sad 
thoughts,  others  gruesome  and  repulsive,  because  indicative  of 
ferocity  and  savage  cruelty.  Keeping  watch  and  ward  over 
the  whole  scene  are  four  life-size  figures  representing  four  sides 
of  life  in  Formosa.  In  one  corner  is  a  Tauist  priest,  arrayed 
in  his  official  long  red  robe,  with  a  bell  in  one  hand  to  arouse 
the  devils  possessing  any  man,  and  a  whip  in  the  other  to  drive 
them  out.  In  the  next  corner  is  a  bare-pated  Buddhist  priest, 
robed  in  drab,  one  hand  holding  his  sacred  scroll,  the  other 
counting  his  string  of  beads.  Opposite  to  him  is  a  fierce-look- 
ing head-hunter  from  the  mountains,  his  forehead  and  chin 
tattooed,  his  spear  at  his  side,  bows  and  arrows  strapped  across 
his  shoulders,  a  long  knife  at  his  girdle,  and  his  left  hand 
clutching  the  cue  of  some  unfortunate  victim.  In  the  fourth 
corner  is  a  savage  woman,  rudely  attired,  and  working  with 
her  "  spinning-jenny,"  as  they  may  be  seen  in  their  mountain 
home. 

There  may  be  good  people  in  Christian  lands  who  will  read 
these  pages  with  painful  astonishment,  horrified  that  a  mission- 
ary should  spend  time  collecting  and  studying  such  things.  I 
do  not  attempt  to  justify  my  conduct  in  the  eyes  of  such  per- 
sons. Had  they  any  conception  of  what  it  means  to  train 
native-born  heathen  to  become  missionaries  of  the  gospel  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  or  could  they  conceive  the  reflex  influ- 


290  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

ence  of  all  this  study  on  mission  work,  in  humbling  the  proud 
graduate,  conciliating  the  haughty  mandarin,  and  attracting 
the  best  and  brightest  of  the  officials,  both  native  and  foreign, 
they  would  not  so  readily  write  across  these  paragraphs  their 
ignorant  and  supercilious  "  Cui  bono  ?  " 


n  1 


■v 


-*c 


CHAPTER   XXXI 

OXFORD    COLLEGE 

The  building — Canadian  liberality — The  grounds — Reflex  influence — 
College  work — Curriculum — Students — An  evening  in  the  college 
hall — Drill — Addresses — An  inspiration 

OXFORD  COLLEGE  stands  on  a  beautiful  site  about 
two  hundred  feet  above  the  waters  of  the  Tamsui  River, 
which  it  overlooks,  facing  south.  The  building  is  seventy-six 
feet  from  east  to  west,  and  one  hundred  and  sixteen  from 
north  to  south.  It  is  built  of  small,  red,  burnt  bricks  from 
Amoy,  on  the  mainland  of  China.  The  entire  outside  was 
oiled  and  painted,  as  a  protection  against  the  heavy  rains. 
The  main  hall  has  four  arched  windows  of  glass.  A  raised 
platform  extends  the  entire  breadth,  with  a  blackboard  of 
equal  length.  There  are  desk  and  stool  for  each  student ;  a 
map  of  the  world,  astronomical  diagrams,  and  a  rack  for  tunes 
on  cotton  cloth.  The  college  has  accommodation  for  fifty 
students,  two  teachers,  and  their  families.  There  are  two 
lecture-rooms,  a  museum  and  library,  bath-room,  and  kitchen. 
Every  room  is  well  ventilated,  lighted,  and  furnished.  There 
is  an  open  court,  around  which  runs  a  porch  or  veranda  two 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length. 

It  was  during  my  first  furlough  in  Canada,  in  1880,  that  the 
people  of  my  native  county,  Oxford,  Ontario,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  the  "  Sentinel-Review "  newspaper  of  Woodstock, 
undertook  to  raise  funds  sufficient  for  erecting  a  college  build- 

291 


292  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

ing  in  Formosa.  Ministers  and  other  Christian  friends  ap- 
proved of  the  proposal,  and  it  was  carried  out  with  enthusiasm 
and  vigor.  At  an  immense  farewell  meeting  held  in  the 
Methodist  church,  Woodstock,  on  the. eve  of  my  return  to 
Formosa,  the  sum  of  $6215  was  presented  to  me;  and  with 
that  money  the  college  building  at  Tamsui  was  erected,  and, 
as  was  fitting,  it  was  called  Oxford  College.  It  is  with  grati- 
tude and  pleasure  that  I  recall  this  and  other  tokens  of  regard 
on  the  part  of  my  home  friends ;  and  when  I  think  of  that 
farewell  meeting  in  1881  there  stand  out  against  the  back- 
ground of  loving  memory  the  form  and  features  of  Oxford's 
greatest  son,  the  late  Rev.  John  Ross,  of  Brucefield,  whose  life 
of  faith  was  to  me  an  inspiration,  and  whose  labor  of  love  the 
Canadian  church  ought  not  to  forget. 

After  finishing  the  building,  the  next  work  was  to  lay  out 
the  grounds.  In  the  proper  season,  trees,  shrubs,  and  seeds 
were  planted.  These  had  to  be  attended  to,  lest  the  ravages 
of  worms  and  white  ants  would  destroy  them  all.  To-day 
there  is  an  avenue  of  evergreen  banian  from  the  new  public 
road  (named  by  the  foreign  community  College  Road)  up  to 
the  college  door.  It  is  three  hundred  and  sixty  feet  in  length. 
The  trees  meet  overhead  and  form  a  great  shelter  for  the 
students  during  exercise  hours.  There  is  another  avenue, 
quite  similar,  between  the  college  and  the  Girls'  School.  It 
is  three  hundred  and  seventy  feet  long,  and  extends  to  the 
wall  behind  the  two  buildings.  There  is  also  an  avenue, 
though  not  so  long,  on  each  side  of  the  college.  The  paths 
are  about  ten  feet  wide,  and  are  covered  with  coral  gravel 
from  the  sea-shore.  A  hedge  of  privet  and  hawthorn  incloses 
the  mission  property ;  it  is  four  feet  across  the  top,  several 
feet  high,  thirteen  hundred  and  four  feet  in  length,  always 
green,  and  at  times  covered  with  beautiful  purple  flowers. 
There  are  twelve  hundred  and  thirty-six  evergreen-trees  planted 
on  the  grounds  as  groves,  and  one  hundred  and  four  oleanders 


OXFORD   COLLEGE  293 

between  five  hundred  and  fifty-one  banian-trees;  and  when 
the  oleanders  are  in  bloom — and  they  bloom  for  months — 
their  lovely  flowers  contrast  beautifully  with  the  dark  foliage 
of  the  evergreen  spreading  banian. 

My  evenings  at  Tamsui  are  sometimes  spent  walking  round 
and  round  the  paths  among  the  trees  and  groves,  exercising, 
superintending,  meditating.  The  order  and  beauty  are  refresh- 
ing, and  the  fine  appearance  of  things  is  a  help  to  the  college. 
Chinese  people  and  officials  visit,  wonder,  and  admire ;  con- 
verts walk  around  and  rejoice.  Is  such  a  part  of  mission  work? 
Yes ;  most  emphatically,  yes.  I,  for  one,  went  among  the 
heathen  to  try  to  elevate  them  by  making  known  to  them  the 
character  and  purposes  of  God.  Our  God  is  a  God  of  order. 
He  loves  beauty,  and  we  should  see  his  handiwork  in  trees, 
plants,  and  flowers ;  moreover,  we  should  endeavor  to  follow 
the  order  which  is  displayed  so  visibly  throughout  the  God- 
created,  star-studded  universe. 

In  Oxford  College  I  addressed  the  students  daily  from  one 
to  five  times.  They  always  took  copious  notes.  Subjects 
were  regularly  reviewed  and  the  classes  constantly  drilled. 
On  being  questioned  as  to  wrhat  lines  of  thought  were  most 
convincing,  one  who  is  a  literary  graduate  said,  "  The  fulfil- 
ment of  prophecy,  especially  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ." 
Another  thought  the  ten  plagues  and  their  critical  import 
would  influence  many  if  studied.  But  twenty  out  of  twenty- 
five  unhesitatingly  declared  that  the  reasoning  from  effect  to 
cause,  and  particularly  from  design  to  designer,  would  deeply 
impress  the  native  mind.  Thus  I  have  been  right  all  along  as 
to  how  best  to  present  the  eternal  truth  of  Jehovah  to  Chinese 
minds. 

The  Bible  is  used  as  our  great  text-book.  Biblical  geogra- 
phy and  history  are  studied  with  special  reference  to  Judea, 
Egypt,  Persia,  Greece,  Syria,  Arabia,  Jerusalem,  Rome,  Baby- 
lon, Nineveh,  Corinth,  Ephesus.     Courses  of  study  are  fol- 


294  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

lowed  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in  the  New  Testament.  A 
study  is  made  of  the  lives  of  the  great  men  of  the  Bible. 
Attention  is  given  to  the  zoology,  botany,  and  mineralogy  of 
Bible  times.  Nor  are  the  modern  sciences  neglected.  Due 
prominence  is  given  to  all  the  important  subjects  in  the  cur- 
riculum of  a  Western  college.  Special  attention  is  given  to 
the  systematic  study  of  the  doctrines  of  God's  Word.  The 
biblical  doctrines  of  God,  man,  sin,  the  person  and  work  of 
Christ,  the  church,  sacraments,  death,  judgment,  future  rewards 
and  punishments,  with  an  examination  of  proof-texts  and 
arguments  on  all  sides,  are  the  subject  of  much  study  and  ex- 
position. 

In  the  college  are  freshmen,  students  of  several  years' 
standing,  and  helpers  who  have  had  considerable  experience 
in  preaching.  About  a  dozen  students  are  Chinese,  and  the 
rest  Pe-po-hoan.  Perhaps  the  former  surpassed  the  latter 
in  mental  acumen  and  unabated  diligence ;  but  it  must  be 
admitted  that  all  studied  with  a  commendable  spirit,  energy, 
and  zeal.  Every  hour  was  turned  to  good  account  in  the 
development  of  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  man.  We 
devoted  hours  to  church  history,  biblical  theology,  zoology, 
geography,  astronomy.  Addresses,  varying  from  one  to  six, 
were  given  every  day.  The  questions  of  the  Shorter  Catechism 
were  all  discussed  and  committed  to  memory.  We  met  every 
night  in  the  college  hall  for  one  or  two  hours,  and  there  women 
from  the  Girls'  School  sat  in  the  center,  surrounded  by  the 
college  boys.  It  would  be  impossible  to  estimate  the  sound, 
solid,  and  far-reaching  results  accruing  from  these  continuous 
nightly  meetings ;  but  a  sketch  of  an  evening  in  the  college 
hall  may  be  of  interest. 

Promptly  at  seven  o'clock  the  college  bell  is  rung.  Students 
file  into  their  places  along  two  sides  and  the  end  of  the  hall. 
Women  from  the  Girls'  School  occupy  the  center;  children 
take  seats  in  the  front  and  corner ;  onlookers  gather  about  the 


OXFORD   COLLEGE  295 

door.  In  all,  over  a  hundred  busy  workers  assemble.  The 
illness  is  serious  indeed  that  will  keep  any  one  away  at  this 
hour ;  sometimes  a  student  appears  shaking  with  malarial  fever 
and  wrapped  in  a  blanket.  The  desks  are  movable,  so  that 
all  can  sit  closely  together  if  necessary.  On  the  platform  are 
table,  lamps,  and  generally  flowers.  Behind  it,  and  in  constant 
use,  are  blackboard,  maps,  and  a  frame  containing  twenty-four 
hymn-tunes  neatly  copied  by  a  student  on  white  cotton.  On 
the  table  are  laid  copy-books  ready  for  inspection. 

First  we  sing  a  hymn,  then  have  a  few  words  of  prayer,  in 
which  one  of  the  students  leads.  Children,  then  women,  read 
and  recite  in  turn  and  answer  questions.  All  the  exercises  are 
enlivened  by  singing.  There  are  no  organs  in  North  Formosa 
churches,  and  the  truth  is,  we  do  not  feel  in  need  of  them. 
All  the  people,  old  and  young,  endeavor  to  take  part  in  the 
service  of  praise  ;  and,  whatever  may  be  said  of  our  music,  we 
have  never  had  indifferent,  half-hearted  singing.  Foreigners 
of  many  nationalities,  who  could  not  understand  one  word  of 
the  language,  have  enjoyed  and  heartily  commended  this  part 
of  our  worship.  Many  have  been  evidently  touched  as  they 
looked  and  listened. 

Our  college  drill  is  varied  but  orderly.  One  student  takes 
the  platform,  pointer  in  hand,  to  indicate  notes  in  the  tune  to 
be  learned ;  all  in  the  hall  stand  and  beat  time  with  the  right 
hand.  One,  with  the  children,  leads  off  with  the  first  line,  and 
the  rest  chime  in.  A  second  verse  may  be  sung  by  the  women 
alone,  the  third  by  the  students,  the  fourth  by  the  whole  band. 
One  row  of  students  may  sing  the  first  line,  another  row  the 
second,  the  women  the  third,  and  so  on.  No  one  knows  when 
his  turn  will  come,  and  so  all  are  kept  on  the  alert.  If  the 
sounds  are  not  full  and  clear,  we  have  a  few  minutes  for  cales- 
thenic  exercises,  especially  such  exercises  as  develop  the  throat 
and  chest.  Then  they  sing  again.  Scripture  lessons,  geogra- 
phy, history,  or  any  subject  may  be  taken  up  next. 


296  FROM  F^R   FORMOSA 

Students  take  turns  in  five-minute  addresses  on  the  platform. 
Each  is  criticized  by  his  fellows,  and  any  fault  in  the  manner, 
dress,  expression,  or  the  matter  is  pointed  out.  New-comers 
tremble,  but  as  months  pass  by  they  overcome  bad  habits, 
learn  to  stand  fire,  and  become  ready  platform  speakers.  They 
develop  their  own  natural  talents  without  aping  any  one,  and 
in  time  learn  to  speak  in  public  with  a  confidence,  and  yet 
with  a  freedom  from  conceit,  that  could  not  be  obtained  with- 
out such  persistent  training. 

In  the  midst  of  all  I  often  take  twenty  or  thirty  minutes  to 
address  all  assembled  on  some  biblical  or  scientific  subject. 
Our  drill  and  worship  over,  the  women  retire  first,  students 
follow,  and  all  disperse  for  fresh  studies.  Sometimes  there  is 
a  debate,  sometimes  an  exhibition  of  magic-lantern  views,  with 
an  address.  No  two  evenings  are  exactly  alike  throughout  the 
season.  They  are  most  enjoyable  meetings.  Cramming, 
dullness,  and  monotony  have  no  place  in  Oxford  College. 
Would  that  mission  critics  could  see  for  themselves  the  glist- 
ening eyes  and  the  eager  faces  of  little  children,  strong  young 
men,  and  gray-haired  women  in  that  crowded  hall!  Would 
that  some  echo  of  those  soul-stirring  songs  of  praise — many  of 
them  mountain  airs — could  reach  my  native  land!  In  the 
midst  of  care,  sickness,  and  toil,  what  an  inspiration  to  hear 
those  converts  from  heathenism,  many  of  them  preparing  to 
carry  Christ's  blessed  evangel  into  the  darkness  from  which 
they  have  been  led,  ring  out  on  the  midnight  air  "  The  Lord's 
my  Shepherd,"  or  "A  day's  march  nearer  home"! 


CHAPTER    XXXII 

NATIVE    WORKERS    FOR    NATIVE    WOMEN 

Woman's  ministry — Reaching  Formosan  women — A  glimpse  at  Chinese 
social  life — Tin-a  from  birth  to  marriage — The  foreign  worker  among 
native  women — "Low-born  barbarian" — Meaningless  etiquette — 
Fever — The  native  Bible-woman — Her  training — At  work — The 
Girls'  School — Curriculum — Students — The  plan  that  succeeds 

WHEN  Jesus  went  through  every  city  and  village  preach- 
ing, the  Twelve  went  with  him,  "and  certain  women 
also."  The  great  Head  of  the  church  knew  well  the  need 
that  existed,  and  would  exist  in  all  future  ages,  for  the  special 
ministrations  of  women  in  the  living  temple  he  was  erecting. 
In  North  Formosa  some  of  the  most  zealous  and  successful 
workers,  who  were  one  with  the  little  band  of  students  in  our 
early  struggles,  and  who  bravely,  and  almost  single-handed, 
stemmed  the  tide  of  bitter  persecution,  were  women,  of  whom 
fragrant  memories  are  still  cherished  by  the  church  there. 
With  terrible  odds  against  them,  some  of  them  lived  and  died, 
clinging  to  the  one  living  God  with  a  simple  confidence,  te- 
nacity, and  determination  not  easily  understood  by  those  who 
spend  their  lives  in  the  walled  gardens  of  Christendom. 

How  is  it  possible  to  convey  to  Christians  in  Western  lands 
any  definite  conception  of  the  life  of  a  Chinese  woman?  How 
is  it  possible  to  present  the  difficulty  of  bridging  the  chasm 
that  exists  between  Circassian  and  Mongolian,  or  of  reaching 
women  to  whom  the  customs,  ways,  and  ideas  of  their  Western 

207 


298  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

sisters  are  altogether  incomprehensible,  and  in  many  cases  lu- 
dicrous and  absurd  ?  But  without  some  insight  into  Chinese 
social  life  one  cannot  understand  the  nature  and  obstinacy  of 
the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  reaching  Formosan  women  with 
the  gospel,  or  how  those  difficulties  are  to  be  overcome.  Only 
a  glimpse  can  be  given,  but  to  those  who  care  to  think  a 
glimpse  may  be  full  of  meaning. 

The  Chinese  wife  who  is  childless  has  a  sorrowful  life  and 
often  a  miserable  death.  Those  who  have  no  children  of  their 
own  frequently  buy  or  adopt  a  child,  or  the  husband  may  take 
to  his  home  a  second  wife.  As  might  be  expected,  there  is 
even  less  happiness  when  a  second  mistress  has  been  installed. 
If  the  first  wife  be  loved  by  her  husband,  all  the  more  intense 
is  her  grief  that  no  son  of  hers  will  ever  worship  at  her  hus- 
band's tomb.  The  fact  is,  barrenness  is  considered  sufficient 
justification  for  ill-treating  a  wife,  or  casting  her  out  on  the 
cold  charities  of  the  world. 

When  a  daughter  is  born,  little  notice  is  taken  of  the  event. 
If  she  should  be  deformed  in  any  way,  such  as  having  a  hare- 
lip, she  may  be  immediately  destroyed.  If  the  parents  already 
have  girls,  and  are  poor,  even  though  it  costs  the  mother  a 
terrible  struggle — for  the  maternal  instinct  cannot  easily  be 
eradicated — the  child  must  sooner  or  later  be  put  out  of  the 
way.  As  the  struggle  for  life  is  hard  and  keen,  the  sooner  the 
unwelcome  baby  girl  is  sacrificed  the  better. 

But  let  us  follow  little  Tin-a.  If  she  come  into  this  world 
in,  say,  a  fairly  well-to-do  merchant's  family,  she  is  destined 
to  grow  into  womanhood  in  a  respectable  circle.  But  how 
many  strange  superstitions  are  connected  with  her  childhood! 
When  four  years  old  her  pink  plump  toes  are  bent  tightly  to- 
gether under  the  foot,  cramped  into  position,  and  firmly  bound 
by  strong  cotton  bandages.  The  foot  is  then  thrust  into  a  lit- 
tle pointed  shoe,  the  large  toe  being  the  prominent  part  of  the 
foot.     This  wretched  shoe  she  wears  night  and   day.     The 


NATIVE   WORKERS  FOR  NATIVE   WOMEN  299 

mother  steels  herself  against  the  daughter's  screams,  for  the 
feet  must  not  be  neglected,  lest  Tin-a's  chances  for  a  good 
marriage  be  spoiled,  and  she  be  doomed  to  slavery  all  her 
days. 

For  several  years  she  is  allowed  to  play  with  her  brothers 
about  the  door.  She  becomes  the  plaything  of  those  around 
her,  and  is  scolded,  indulged,  and  beaten  by  turns.  It  is 
understood  that  she  must  be  submissive  to  her  brothers,  who 
rule  over  her ;  and  in  due  course  she  must  learn  to  cook  rice, 
wash  clothes,  and  to  sew  and  embroider  dresses.  She  must 
use  every  artificial  and  natural  means  of  rendering  herself  out- 
wardly as  attractive  as  possible,  for  she  believes  that  the  great 
end  of  existence  is  to  be  well  married.  Heart  and  intellect 
receive  a  wretched  kind  of  training,  if  training  it  can  be  called. 
She  is  taught  some  Chinese  proverbs  and  the  moral  maxims, 
which  pass  glibly  over  the  tongue,  while  her  mind  is  filled  with 
ill-natured  gossip,  low  jests,  filthy  sayings,  and  a  thousand 
slavish  superstitions. 

When  about  ten  years  of  age  she  is  confined  to  the  house, 
and  no  man,  save  those  of  her  own  family,  is  allowed  to  con- 
verse with  her.  If  strangers  enter  her  father's  house  she  may 
peep  through  the  cracks  from  an  inner  room,  but  she  must 
on  no  account  permit  herself  to  be  seen.  Whatever  she  may 
be  in  reality,  the  parents,  who  are  looking  forward  to  a  few 
hundred  dollars  at  least  when  she  shall  leave  their  home  as  a 
bride,  represent  her  as  being  endowed  with  numberless  virtues ; 
and  she  herself,  at  New  Year's  or  on  heathen  festivals,  with 
the  aid  of  silks,  satins,  powder,  jewels,  embroidery,  and  per- 
fume, must  make  a  fine  show.  Above  all  things,  she  must, 
with  due  amount  of  simpering,  profess  to  be  so  exceedingly 
modest  that  she  cannot  bear  to  have  men  look  upon  her. 
This  period  of  close  confinement  is  an  anxious  one  to  the  par- 
ents, because  such  is  the  state  of  society  that,  should  she  break 
through  the  restraints  and  be  seen  alone  on  the  streets,  all  their 


300  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

labor  would  be  lost,  the  family  would  be  disgraced,  and  the 
girl's  chances  of  marriage  ruined  forever.  One  would  like  to 
draw  the  veil  over  such  a  state  of  affairs,  but  we  are  facing  the 
fact  that  the  morals  in  heathen  lands  are  very  low.  Could  we 
expect  them  to  be  higher?  Perhaps  not,  and  yet  the  picture 
has  a  brighter  side.  It  is  under  such  conditions  that  the  power 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ  is  seen.  Already  its  power  has  been 
manifested  in  raising  out  of  such  surroundings  women  and 
girls  who  become  neat  and  cleanly  in  appearance,  ladylike  in 
deportment,  and  lovely  in  character. 

When  Tin-a  is  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  a  go-between, 
who  is  generally  an  aunt  or  some  quick-witted  old  woman,  is 
secured.  This  almost  indispensable  lady,  by  making  many 
journeys  and  holding  many  conversations,  arranges  with  the 
parents  of  some  young  man  for  a  betrothal,  which  is  usually 
settled  in  consideration  of  a  sum  of  money,  say  from  one  hun- 
dred to  three  hundred  dollars,  which  is  paid  over  to  the  father 
and  mother  of  the  expectant  bride.  The  augurs  having  been 
consulted,  and  an  auspicious  day  fixed  upon,  a  feast  is  pre- 
pared at  the  bridegroom's  home.  The  bride  is  carried  thither 
in  a  closely  covered  sedan-chair,  over  which  a  red  cloth  is 
thrown.  After  bowing  with  him  before  the  ancestral  tablets 
and  household  gods,  and  going  through  many  other  ceremo- 
nies, she  belongs  henceforth,  soul  and  body,  to  this  man  and  to 
his  mother,  to  use  or  misuse  as  they  see  fit.  Those  of  us  who 
love  the  Chinese  most  are  saddest  to  confess  the  cruel  bondage 
that  too  often  faces  the  Chinese  bride. 

And  now  the  question  comes,  How  are  women  in  such  a 
state  of  society,  with  such  social  customs,  and  in  such  a  coun- 
try as  Formosa,  to  be  reached  and  taught  the  gospel  of  Jesus? 
A  foreign  lady  goes  to  take  up  her  abode  in  Tamsui.  Rosy- 
cheeked,  healthy,  and  hopeful,  she  thinks  she  can  do  her  own 
housework  while  studying  the  language.  In  this  she  proceeds 
for  a  few  months.     But  the  hot  weather  comes,  and  with  it 


NATIVE   WORKERS  I- OR   NATIVE   W 'OMEN  3QI 

fever.  The  color  gone  from  her  face,  and  strength  from  her 
arm,  the  lady  must  hand  the  housework  over  to  a  Chinese 
male  cook.  She  studies  faithfully,  but  the  Chinese  language 
is  of  all  things  earthly  the  most  intricate  and  difficult  to  mas- 
ter. Even  if  she  learn  to  articulate  clearly,  she  is  surprised  to 
find  at  the  end  of  one  year  how  few  ideas  she  can  express. 
Enthusiastic,  perchance,  and  eager  to  be  at  work,  she  goes 
out  among  the  Chinese,  who  crowd  about  to  stare  at  her. 
Her  dress  is  not  like  theirs,  and  some  dispute  as  to  whether 
she  is  a  man  or  woman.  Presently  the  cry  is  taken  up,  and 
it  follows  her  everywhere:  "Barbarian!  low-born  barbarian!" 
The  very  fact  of  her  being  there  in  a  foreign  land,  far  away 
from  relatives,  lowers  her  in  their  estimation ;  for  however 
much  the  heathen  in  North  Formosa  have  learned  during  the 
last  twenty  years  about  Western  lands,  they  are  so  busy  earn- 
ing their  rice  that  they  will  not  take  time  to  study  Western 
ways  and  customs.  The  foreign  lady,  in  the  simple  act  of 
going  out  on  foot  into  their  streets,  offends  against  their  ideas 
of  propriety. 

She  has  heard,  perhaps,  that  a  little  girl,  with  whose  parents 
she  is  acquainted,  is  ill,  and  with  Christian  sympathy  and 
desire  to  help  she  makes  her  way  to  their  home,  taking  some 
delicacy  with  her.  They  may  not  seem  frightened,  and,  pos- 
sibly with  a  great  show  of  welcome,  they  invite  her  in.  She 
tries  to  speak  a  little  to  them,  tells  them  of  one  God,  but  she 
feels  helpless  amid  their  chatter  and  questions  about  dress,  hat, 
buttons,  and  why  foreign  ladies  bind  their  waists  and  not  their 
feet.  They  urge  and  entreat  her  to  stay,  to  drink  tea,  to  come 
again.  In  time  she  will  learn  that  a  great  deal  of  this  is  only 
part  of  Chinese  etiquette  and  politeness,  empty  and  meaning- 
less. The  truth  is  that  the  Chinese  are  amazed  at  her  utter 
disregard  of  the  ordinary  rules  of  polite  society,  that  forbid 
visiting  in  this  way  where  there  is  sickness,  and  forbid  any  but 
members  of  the  family  entering  the  sick-room.    They  scarcely 


3° 2  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

wait  till  she  is  out  of  hearing  before  they  begin  to  ridicule 
barbarians  in  general,  and  this  one  in  particular.  The  foreign 
lady,  kind-hearted,  sincere,  trying  to  converse  in  broken  Chi- 
nese, and  really  anxious  to  do  good — who  could  fail  to  sym- 
pathize with  her  under  such  circumstances  ?  Time  and  the 
leveling  power  of  Christian  influence  may  change  these  cus- 
toms ;  meantime  they  must  be  reckoned  with,  and  stolid  facts 
faced  with  open  eyes. 

The  foreign  lady  finds  she  is  confined  almost  entirely  to  the 
seaport ;  for  a  week  or  ten  days  inland  means  more  fever,  and 
the  suspension  of  her  work  for  a  time,  if  not  permanently. 
To  go  over  mountains  to  join  Bible-women  working  in  the 
Kap-tsu-lan  plain  is  simply  out  of  the  question.  Apart  from 
the  fact  that  the  way  is  often  impassable,  the  climate  is  so 
damp  and  the  region  so  unwholesome  that  even  native,  work- 
ers dread  it.  No  foreigner  has  ever  spent  many  days  there 
without  suffering,  and  no  medical  man  who  knows  the  country 
would  dare  give  his  consent  to  a  foreign  lady  making  the 
attempt.  Even  with  the  best  of  care  in  the  north  she  may 
often  be  prostrated  with  fever.  At  the  end  of  the  fourth  or 
fifth  year  of  faithful  study  and  effort,  compared  with  the  little 
Chinese  woman  at  her  side,  she  is  still  almost  helpless  in  teach- 
ing. This  native  Bible-woman  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 
language  and  customs  of  her  own  people,  and  has  been  trained 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures  so  that  she  can  quote  and  explain  with 
aptness  and  effect,  while  her  foreign  sister  struggles  with  the 
idioms  of  the  language,  and  is  in  perpetual  danger  of  violating 
one  of  the  thousand  rules  of  Chinese  society. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  any  one  of  these  native  Bible- women 
and  see  what  she  is  accomplishing.  Who  is  she  ?  What  is 
her  history?  How  does  she  work?  There  is  A  So,  a  gray- 
haired  widow,  one  who  has  reared  a  family,  has  grandchildren, 
and  will,  therefore,  command  respect.  Some  of  her  sons  are 
married,  and  she  has  an  influence  over  their  households.     At 


NATIVE   WORKERS  FOR  NATIVE   WOMEN  303 

one  time  she  knew  not  of  Jesus,  but  a  chapel  was  opened  near 
her  door.  At  first  she  reviled  the  "foreign  devil,"  but  liked 
to  hear  the  singing  through  her  lattice-window.  Then  she 
listened  to  the  preacher,  and  noticed  the  students,  who  seemed 
so  neat,  clever,  and  affable.  At  last  she  began  to  enjoy  the 
services  in  the  building,  and  more  and  more  was  delighted 
with  expositions  of  the  truth.  Especially  did  she  love  the 
psalms  and  hymns,  for  she  found  comfort  in  their  consolatory 
truths.  Her  idols  were  thrown  away  and  she  publicly  declared 
herself  a  Christian.  By  and  by  Canadian  ladies  gave  a  large 
sum  of  money,  and  the  Girls'  School  was  erected.  Having 
spent  several  sessions  there,  A  So  was  sent  to  a  chapel,  where 
her  time  was  fully  occupied  in  teaching  children  and  young 
girls,  visiting  the  neighbors,  answering  their  thousand  queries 
regarding  the  mission,  the  missionaries,  God,  and  heaven,  and 
in  telling  them  of  the  truth  that  she  had  learned,  and  of  how 
she  came  to  cast  her  idols  away.  She  reads,  and  they  are 
surprised  ;  prays,  and  they  listen  ;  sings,  and  they  are  delighted. 
She  finds  out  their  ailments  and  afflictions,  and,  in  common 
with  the  preacher  and  his  wife,  she  endeavors  to  comfort  them. 
She  knows  when  and  how  to  appear  in  a  neighbor's  dwelling, 
and  how  to  act  in  such  a  way  that  her  visits  may  be  accept- 
able. She  is  respected  on  account  of  her  gray  hairs,  neat  ap- 
pearance, and  woman-like  manners,  and  the  heathen  women 
look  up  to  her  because,  like  the  preacher's  wife,  she  is  better 
posted  in  all  the  affairs  of  life  than  they  are.  She  sympathizes 
with  the  women,  for  she  has  suffered  just  as  they.  She  knows 
all  about  foot-binding.  Sickness  and  death  have  been  in  her 
home,  and  when  the  little  ones  they  love  are  taken  away  she 
knows  how  to  sympathize,  and  with  the  comfort  wherewith 
she  herself  was  comforted  of  God  in  the  dark  days  of  her  own 
sorrow  she  goes  in  to  bereaved  mothers,  and  not  in  vain  talks 
of  the  Shepherd  and  his  fold.  Every  Saturday  she  visits  the 
houses  of  new  converts,  and  tells  women  to  be  ready  at  a  certain 


304  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

hour  the  next  day,  when  she  will  call  for  them  to  go  to  wor- 
ship. Gradually  and  almost  imperceptibly  the  women  are 
drawn  toward  the  truth,  and  they  scarcely  know  how  much 
they  have  learned  to  love  this  devoted  Bible-woman  till  she 
is  transferred  to  another  station.  Not  a  few  of  these  Bible- 
women  are  most  enthusiastic  and  efficient  workers,  and  all  are 
of  great  assistance  to  the  native  preachers.  Some  of  them 
have  been  the  means  of  bringing  whole  families  to  Christ,  and 
more  and  more  is  the  Master's  seal  set  to  the  work  of  these 
native  workers. 

As  a  college  was  needed  to  train  men  for  the  ministry,  so  also 
a  large  school  building  was  required  at  some  central  point  where 
women  and  girls  could  spend  months  at  a  time,  under  constant 
supervision  and  such  influences  as  would  remodel  the  lives  of 
the  older,  and  direct  in  the  right  channels  those  of  the  younger. 
The  ladies  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada  came  forward  with  hearty 
enthusiasm  and  gave  the  necessary  funds  for  the  building. 
Near  the  close  of  1883  we  began  the  work  of  construction  on 
the  same  grounds  as  Oxford  College,  and  but  a  few  rods  away 
from  it.  We  often  worked  till  midnight  with  a  large  gang  of 
men.  Students  would  stand  outside  and  sing  hymns  to  cheer 
the  workmen.  In  eleven  weeks  the  neat,  roomy  structure  of 
cut  stone  was  ready  to  be  opened.  It  is  the  same  size  and  on 
the  same  frontage  as  Oxford  College.  The  front  door  leads 
directly  into  the  hall  or  assembly-room.  On  each  side  of  this 
is  a  small  class-room.  Behind  the  hall  is  an  open  court,  sur- 
rounded by  dormitories,  and  there  are  kitchen,  servants'  bed- 
rooms, and  storage-rooms.  There  is  no  need  for  comforts 
such  as  are  to  be  found  in  a  European  or  American  ladies* 
college.  These  would  only  unfit  the  women  for  their  own 
homes,  where  foreign  luxuries  are  not  to  be  had.  A  sufficiency 
of  light  and  ventilation  is  most  important  and  is  amply  pro- 
vided for. 


NATIVE  WORKERS  FOR  NATIVE   WOMEN  3° 5 

On  the  whole,  only  native  preachers  are  employed ;  there- 
fore running  expenses  have  amounted  to  but  a  small  fraction 
of  what  they  would  otherwise  have  been.  Two  native  matrons, 
a  preacher,  and  his  wife  live  in  the  building.  Much  of  the 
teaching — indeed,  most  of  it — has  been  entirely  voluntary. 
Older  ones,  or  those  further  advanced,  have  taught  the  new- 
comers and  little  children.  Often  it  is  convenient  to  have  a 
preacher's  wife  and  children,  or  his  mother,  in  the  Girls'  School 
while  he  is  at  college  ;  so  that  in  this  home  for  Christian  work- 
ers there  are  gray-haired  women  and  little  children,  daughters 
and  daughters-in-law,  all  busy  reading,  writing,  and  singing 
side  by  side.  Teachers  from  Oxford  College  can  easily  carry 
on  the  work  of  the  two  institutions.  The  English  language  is 
not  taught.  If  desired,  a  Chinese  teacher  can  teach  them  to 
read  and  write  their  own  characters.  Native  women  can  sur- 
pass a  foreigner  in  teaching  the  romanized  colloquial;  that 
is,  Chinese  words  spelled  with  English  letters.  That  is  the 
hope  of  our  women,  for  it  is  useless  to  expect  them  to  acquire 
the  Chinese  characters.  Each  one  who  learns  the  romanized 
colloquial  can  read  her  own  Bible.  There  is  a  girl  there  who, 
when  seventeen  years  of  age,  learned  in  one  month  to  read 
the  Catechism  of  the  New  Testament.  Chinese  girls  and 
women  are  not  in  need  of  foreign  ladies  to  teach  them  sewing, 
dressmaking,  and  embroidery ;  they  are  experts  in  the  art.  In 
other  mission  fields  it  is  very  different. 

It  is  inconvenient,  if  not  impossible,  throughout  North  For- 
mosa to  secure  girls,  Chinese  or  Pe-po-hoan,  to  remain  in  the 
Girls'  School  at  Tamsui  for  any  great  length  of  time.  It  is 
demanding  too  much  in  the  present  state  of  our  work  to  expect 
poor  little  girls  to  journey  from  the  east  coast  away  from 
their  parents.  There  is  a  hard  struggle  for  existence,  and  the 
larger  girls  cannot  be  spared  from  the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain.  In 
considering  a  sensible  and  useful  plan  for  the  education  of  the 
girls  in  any  mission,  the  daughters  of  those  employed  by  the 


306  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

mission,  and  whose  interest  it  is  to  patronize  the  institutions  of 
their  employers,  must  not  be  taken  into  account.  A  school 
managed  on  those  principles,  and  reaching  only  those  selfishly 
interested,  is  not  likely  to  be  largely  influential.  Our  object 
must  be  to  reach  the  daughters  of  independent  farmers, 
mechanics,  laborers,  and  merchants.  To  attain  that  in  China 
the  plans  adopted  must  be  large,  flexible,  and  Chinese-like. 
Recognizing  these  fundamental  facts,  the  Girls'  School  was 
established.  Bible-women  are  there  trained  for  service  at 
every  station  in  the  mission.  These  are  "  looked  out  "  by  the 
native  preachers  just  as  candidates  for  the  ministry  are  in 
Christian  lands.  They  are  bright  Christian  women,  and  come 
up  from  the  various  churches,  often  bringing  with  them  two 
or  three  girls,  the  daughters  of  converts  there.  It  is  entirely 
Chinese-like  for  a  mother  to  intrust  her  daughter  to  another 
woman  who  will  care  for  her  while  absent  from  home.  Some- 
times the  Bible-women  bring  their  own  daughters,  daughters- 
in-law,  or  other  relatives.  In  this  way  the  Girls'  School  has 
had  as  many  as  eighty  during  one  session. 

The  women  are  taught  reading,  writing,  and  singing,  Bible 
history  and  geography,  the  Scripture  catechisms,  and  also  at- 
tend addresses  in  the  college  during  the  day  and  take  part  in 
recitations  and  other  exercises  in  the  evening.  They  are 
trained  in  methods  of  teaching,  and  in  every  way  equipped 
for  their  work.  Then  they  are  sent  to  stations  where  their 
gifts  will  yield  the  best  service.  In  this  way  a  hundred  little 
communities  are  reached,  and  women  and  girls,  Christian  and 
heathen,  in  the  remotest  part  of  the  mission  are  brought  into 
touch  with  the  stronger  and  healthier  life  at  the  center. 

I  am  not  speaking  for  other  missions  or  other  missionaries. 
Neither  am  I  theorizing  about  work  in  Formosa.  I  am  simply 
explaining  the  plan  adopted  there,  and  stating  results  which 
are  evident  and  verifiable.  After  an  experience  of  more  than 
twenty  years  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  that,  in  my  opinion, 


NATIVE   WORKERS  FOR  NATIVE   WOMEN  3°7 

only  by  some  such  large,  flexible,  and  Chinese-like  plan  will 
North  Formosa  ever  be  evangelized.  The  expense  of  main- 
taining a  large  foreign  staff  is  so  great,  the  language  and  social 
customs  of  the  people  present  such  formidable  obstacles,  the 
climatic  conditions  are  so  wasteful  of  life,  making  the  field, 
except  in  and  about  Tamsui,  a  hungry  devourer  of  men,  and 
the  success  which  by  God's  manifest  favor  has  attended  the 
work  of  those  native  Bible-women  has  been  so  real  and  abid- 
ing, that  I  have  stood  and  still  stand,  now  as  confidently  as 
ever,  for  the  plan  that  is  least  expensive,  most  effective,  and 
that  succeeds.  In  North  Formosa  that  plan  is  native  workers 
for  native  women. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII 

MEDICAL    WORK    AND    THE    HOSPITAL 

Importance  of  medical  missions — Native  doctors — A  doctor's  charges — 
Classification  of  diseases — Diagnosis — Diseases  of  the  seasons — The 
medicine-man — Cures  for  cholera,  catarrh,  dyspepsia — Malignant 
malaria — Treatment  by  Tauist,  Buddhist,  sorcerer,  doctor — Malarial 
poison — Foreign  treatment — Dentistry — First  attempt — Instruments 
— Methods  and  results — MacKay  Hospital — Influence  of  medical 
work  on  mission 

THE  importance  of  medical  missons  does  not  any  longer 
need  to  be  emphasized.  It  is  admitted  by  all  who  know 
the  history  of  modern  missionary  work.  From  the  very  begin- 
ning of  our  work  in  Formosa  heed  was  given  to  the  words  and 
example  of  the  Lord,  and  by  means  of  the  healing  art  a  wide 
door  for  immediate  usefulness  was  opened.  No  part  of  my 
preparatory  training  proved  more  practically  helpful  than  the 
medical  studies  pursued  in  Toronto  and  New  York.  I  found 
the  people  suffering  from  various  ailments  and  diseases,  and 
the  power  to  relieve  their  pain  and  heal  their  diseases  won  for 
the  mission  grateful  friends  and  supporters. 

But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  there  are  no  doctors  in 
Formosa.  There  are  large  numbers  of  them,  and  the  practice 
of  medicine,  if  it  is  not  scientific,  is  certainly  interesting  and 
deserving  of  study.  There  are  no  authorized  schools  of  medi- 
cine, no  examinations,  and  no  degrees.  Custom  is  the  only 
law,  and  success  the  only  diploma.  By  experimenting  on 
himself  or  on  others  a  man  may  come  to  know  something  of 

308 


MEDICAL   WORK  AND    THE  HOSPITAL  309 

the  medicinal  values  of  certain  compounds.  Or  he  may  be 
associated  with  an  older  practitioner  and  learn  from  experi- 
ence. Or  by  studying  books  on  medicine  and  copying  the 
important  parts,  he  may  learn  enough  of  theory  to  begin  prac- 
tice. One  who  has  himself  been  a  sufferer  and  tried  many 
remedies  has  all  the  knowledge  required  for  prescribing  for 
other  people.  A  clerk  in  a  medicine-shop,  by  reading  and  fill- 
ing prescriptions  sent  in  by  doctors,  may  begin  himself  to  pre- 
scribe. Failing  in  other  lines,  a  man  may  purchase  a  stock  of 
recipes  and  set  out  as  a  doctor.  To  be  sure,  one  must  have 
either  knowledge  or  shrewdness ;  otherwise  he  will  lose  the 
confidence  and  patronage  of  the  people,  and  then  his  occupa- 
tion will  be  gone. 

A  Chinese  doctor's  charges  would  not  be  regarded  as  exor- 
bitant by  Western  physicians  or  patients.  For  one  call  one 
hundred  cash — equal  to  about  ten  cents — will  be  expected. 
The  regular  practitioner  holds  a  high  place  in  the  estimation 
of  the  people,  and  his  services  are  fairly  remunerative.  The 
traveling  doctor,  however,  who  generally  combines  sleight-of- 
hand  tricks  with  the  sale  of  plasters  and  nostrums,  does  not 
enjoy  their  confidence  or  respect. 

The  native  doctors  classify  diseases  as  either  internal  or  ex- 
ternal, and  it  is  but  rarely  that  both  classes  of  disease  are 
treated  by  the  same  man.  As  internal  diseases  are  more  mys- 
terious because  of  their  secret  operations,  those  who  devote 
themselves  to  their  cure  are  counted  worthy  of  greater  honor 
than  those  whose  specialty  is  external  sores  and  wounds. 

Diagnosis  is  made  by  feeling  the  pulse.  The  doctor  seats 
himself  opposite  his  patient,  whose  hand  rests  on  a  piece  of 
cloth  on  the  table.  If  the  patient  be  a  male,  the  doctor,  using 
his  own  right  hand,  first  feels  the  pulse  of  the  patient's  left 
hand,  then  that  of  his  right ;  if  the  patient  be  a  female,  the 
doctor,  using  his  own  left  hand,  takes  first  her  right  and  then 
her  left.     He  places  his  thumb  on  the  prominent  part  of  the 


3io  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

bone  of  the  wrist,  and  the  first  three  fingers  on  the  pulse.  The 
different  states  of  the  pulse  are  described  by  five  different 
words.  The  first  means  that  it  is  high  and  full ;  the  second, 
that  it  is  low  or  deep  and  slow ;  the  third,  that  it  is  deeper  and 
lower  still ;  the  fourth,  that  it  feels  as  if  empty ;  and  the  fifth, 
that  all  motion  is  gone  and  nothing  can  be  felt. 

The  heart  and  liver  are  supposed  to  produce  these  different 
states  of  pulse.  It  is  believed  that  the  heart  has  seven  open- 
ings, through  which  wind  and  an  evil  principle  enter,  causing 
these  changes  in  the  pulse.  Diseases  differ  according  to  the 
seasons  of  the  year.  Those  of  the  spring  are  supposed  to  be 
caused  by  the  liver,  those  of  the  summer  by  the  heart,  those 
of  the  autumn  by  the  lungs,  and  those  of  the  winter  by  the 
kidneys. 

The  doctor  invariably  writes  out  his  prescription,  which  is 
taken  to  the  drug-shop  and  filled.  The  druggist  weighs  out 
the  various  ingredients  with  considerable  care,  and  wraps  them 
together  in  a  paper,  inclosing  the  prescription  along  with  the 
medicine,  and  marking  the  names  of  the  articles  on  the  outside 
of  the  package.  The  masses  are  kept  in  ignorance,  however, 
for  very  familiar  substances  are  given  names  quite  unknown 
in  the  language  of  the  common  people.  Minerals,  rocks,  and 
shells  are  often  ground  to  a  powder  and  roasted.  Vegetables, 
roots,  flowers,  barks,  and  seeds  are  used  as  infusions. 

In  matters  of  surgery  the  natives  acknowledge  the  superior- 
ity of  foreign  practitioners,  but  in  dealing  with  internal  diseases 
preeminence  is  claimed  for  their  own  doctors.  It  is  only  slowly 
that  their  ignorance  is  exposed  and  their  superstitious  notions 
overthrown.  When  one  thinks  of  many  of  their  remedies  one 
wonders  at  the  simplicity  of  patients  that  makes  such  prescrib- 
ing profitable. 

For  Asiatic  cholera  many  trust  to  a  counter-irritant  and  ex- 
ternal applications.  The  skin  on  several  parts  of  the  body  is 
pierced  with  needles,  and  jerked   or  pinched   between  the 


MEDICAL    WORK  AND    THE  HOSPITAL  311 

knuckles  of  the  index  and  middle  fingers  until  it  becomes  red. 
Hair  and  ginger  are  sometimes  mixed  with  camellia-oil  and 
rubbed  over  the  body.  A  specific  for  catarrh  is  made  out  of 
three  ingredients  infused  in  boiling  water — a  chip  cut  from  a 
coffin  after  it  has  been  put  into  the  grave,  a  piece  of  the  hem- 
pen mourning-clothes,  and  a  handful  of  the  earth  out  of  the 
grave  or  taken  from  beside  the  coffin  after  it  has  been  lowered. 
The  tartar  allowed  to  collect  around  the  teeth — of  which,  I 
can  bear  testimony,  a  supply  may  be  easily  obtained — is  con- 
sidered a  valuable  antidote  for  dog-bite.  The  sallow  counte- 
nance and  disagreeable  flatulence  of  a  dyspeptic  may  be  cured 
by  a  diet  of  dog's  flesh,  that  of  a  puppy  being  preferable,  and 
that  of  a  mad  dog  not  to  be  despised.  A  common  remedy  for 
gastritis  is  jerking  the  skin  of  the  neck  with  the  fingers  after 
steeping  them  in  warm  water  or  spirituous  liquor.  If  an  in- 
fant's skin  be  of  a  black  or  dark  color,  pieces  of  a  broken  fry- 
ing-pan are  ground  together  with  a  screeching  noise  until  the 
child  begins  to  cry.  If  a  man  has  been  exposed  to  winds  or 
rain,  and  painful  cracks  in  the  skin  result,  it  is  supposed  that 
the  real  cause  of  the  trouble  is  that  the  man  offended  the 
moon  by  pointing  at  her  with  his  middle  finger;  and  to  be 
cured  he  must  face  the  offended  mistress  of  the  night,  placing 
his  hands  together  as  in  the  act  of  worship,  and  politely  bow, 
humbly  confessing  his  sin,  and  asking  forgiveness. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  from  what  has  just  been  said  that 
the  Chinese  are  simple-minded  and  gullible  beyond  all  others 
that  dwell  upon  the  earth.  It  does  seem  incomprehensible, 
however,  that  so  shrewd  a  people  can  be  deceived  and  blinded 
by  such  ignorant  quackery.  And  yet  is  it  so  very  strange  ? 
What  about  the  most  enlightened  nations  of  Europe  in  the 
last  century?  What  about  some  Western  peoples  and  coun- 
tries to-day  ?  One  does  not  need  to  travel  far  to  find  those 
who  are  willing  to  be  duped. 

The  most  malignant  disease,  the  one  most  common  and 


312  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

most  dreaded  by  the  people,  is,  as  has  been  suggested,  ma- 
larial fever.  They  suppose  the  disease  to  be  caused  by  the 
patient  unluckily  treading  on  mock-money  put  in  the  street  or 
on  the  roadside  by  a  priest  or  sorcerer;  or  by  a  conflict  be- 
tween the  hot  and  cold  principles  in  nature ;  or  by  two  devils, 
one  belonging  to  the  negative  principle  in  nature,  fanning  the 
patient,  thus  causing  the  chills,  and  the  other  belonging  to  the 
positive  principle,  blowing  a  furnace  and  producing  heat  and 
fever.  But  to  mention  the  names  of  these  devils  would  be  to 
incur  their  displeasure,  and  so  the  people  never  use  the  name 
"  chills  and  fever,"  but  call  it  "  devils'  fever,"  "  beggar's  fever," 
or  some  other  harmless  name. 

The  treatment  for  malaria  depends  upon  the  adviser.  The 
Tauist  priest  makes  charms  out  of  peach-leaves,  green  bam- 
boo, and  yellow  paper,  which  are  tied  around  a  button  of  the 
sick  one's  clothes,  or  to  the  cue.  Sometimes  red  thread  is  tied 
around  the  wrist,  and  kept  there  for  weeks  at  a  time.  Or  a 
stamp,  like  that  of  Lau-tsze,  the  founder  of  Tauism,  is  pressed 
on  the  back.  But  perhaps  most  effective  of  all  is  for  the  priest 
to  arouse  the  devils  by  ringing  a  bell  or  blowing  a  kind  of 
horn,  after  which  he  proceeds  to  drive  them  out  with  a  whip. 

The  Buddhist  priest  prescribes  tea  made  from  the  ashes  of 
burnt  incense,  or  he  writes  such  a  word  as  "arsenic"  on  a 
puffed  cake,  which  he  puts  into  boiling  water  and,  when  cool, 
gives  it  to  the  patient.  Failing  other  remedies,  he  sends  the 
afflicted  to  the  nearest  temple,  where  he  must  remain  for  some 
time  under  the  table  of  an  idol  to  escape  the  attacks  of  the 
designing  devils. 

The  sorcerer  takes  three  bamboo  sticks  about  three  feet  in 
length,  ties  red  cloth  around  one  end  of  each,  and  charms  the 
fever  demons  away  from  those  possessed.  Or  he  makes  a 
figure  like  a  man  out  of  rice-straw,  into  which  he  invites  the 
wicked  spirits  to  enter,  and  having  carried  the  straw  man  some 
distance  from  the  house,  he  presents  to  the  spirits  an  offering 


MEDICAL   WORK  AND   THE  HOSPITAL  3I3 

of  mock-money,  pork,  duck  eggs,  rice,  and  vegetables.  As 
effective  a  remedy  as  any  other  used  by  the  sorcerer  is  the 
tying  of  seven  hairs  plucked  out  of  a  black  dog  around  the 
hand  of  the  fever  patient. 

The  native  doctor  will  talk  wisely  about  the  disagreement 
between  the  two  principles  in  nature,  which  nothing  but  his 
medicines  will  overcome.  The  chief  ingredients  of  his  remedies 
are  seeds  of  plantain,  prepared  orange-peel,  licorice  root,  root 
of  white  peony,  Pterocarpus  flavus,  Sida,  Panax  (ginseng), 
Lcvisticum,  Bupleurum,  Scutellaria,  Clematis  libanotis,  and 
quince. 

I  have  no  more  faith  in  the  prescriptions  of  the  native  doc- 
tors than  I  have  in  those  of  the  priests  or  sorcerers.  Indeed, 
I  have  known  doctors  to  write  out  prescriptions  for  their  pa- 
tients and  collect  their  fees,  but  for  their  own  use  they  kept 
carefully  folded  in  paper  from  five  to  twenty  grains  of  quinine. 

To  this  dreaded  disease  foreigners  give  such  names  as  sun- 
pain,  intermittent  fever,  chills  and  fever,  fever  and  ague,  dumb 
ague,  jungle  fever,  African  fever,  and  I  have  heard  it  called 
Tamsui  fever.  Its  real  cause,  no  doubt,  is  malarial  poison 
generated  by  the  decomposing  of  organic  matter,  and  its  in- 
tensity depends  on  the  constitution,  climate,  and  surroundings 
of  the  sufferer.  I  spent  weeks  with  the  savages  in  the  moun- 
tains near  Mount  Sylvia,  and  found  them  generally  healthy. 
Pe-po-hoan  farmers  moved  into  that  neighborhood  and  began 
to  build  their  huts  and  cultivate  the  land.  Within  one  week 
the  entire  settlement  was  prostrated  with  fever  in  its  most  in- 
tense form,  and  the  sufferings  of  those  poor  savages  were  sad 
to  see.  Another  instance  of  the  poison  being  generated  by 
the  upturning  of  the  decomposed  matter  in  the  soil  occurred 
in  connection  with  the  building  of  the  Girls'  School  at  Tamsui, 
where,  after  digging  down  several  feet  for  the  foundation,  the 
workmen  suffered  more  or  less  until  the  building  was  finished. 
A  singular  thing  is  that  one  limb  or  one  hand  or  one  side  may 


314  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

be  affected  and  may  go  through  all  the  stages,  and  the  other 
parts  of  the  body  remain  as  before. 

Several  methods  of  treatment  are  followed.  A  first  attack, 
in  a  good  constitution,  may  be  overcome  by  anything  that  will 
produce  a  good  sweat ;  but  when  the  system  is  saturated  with 
the  poison,  long-continued  and  persistent  treatment  is  required. 
Lemons  cut  in  slices  and  boiled  till  all  the  juice  is  extracted 
make  not  only  a  refreshing  drink,  but,  if  used  liberally,  an  un- 
questionably good  medicine  during  a  fever  attack.  I  have 
used  Podophyllum  and  Taraxacum  in  pill  form  at  first,  then 
frequent  doses  of  quinine,  followed,  if  necessary,  by  perchlorate 
of  iron.  A  liquid  diet,  exercise,  and  fresh  air  are  always  in- 
sisted on.  My  prayer  is  that  some  discovery  may  be  made 
that  will  do  in  the  case  of  malaria  what  vaccination  does  in 
the  case  of  smallpox,  and  that  by  killing  or  eradicating  this 
devouring  poison  life  in  tropical  lands  may  be  made  less  cruel 
alike  for  native  and  foreigner. 

It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  in  Formosa  to  find  half  the 
inhabitants  of  a  town  prostrated  by  malarial  fever  at  once.  I 
have  seen  households  of  twenty  or  thirty  with  not  one  able  to 
do  any  work.  In  such  circumstances  the  native  preachers, 
living  in  the  midst  of  the  sufferers  and  knowing  their  life,  are 
able,  by  means  of  foreign  medicine,  in  the  use  of  which  they 
have  been  trained,  to  do  incalculable  service  to  afflicted  hu- 
manity, and  so  to  commend  the  gospel  of  their  Master,  who 
"  healed  many  who  were  sick  of  divers  diseases." 

Dentistry  should  be  mentioned,  along  with  the  treatment  of 
fever,  as  a  most  important  department  of  medical  missionary 
work  in  Formosa.  Toothache,  resulting  from  severe  malaria 
and  from  betel-nut  chewing,  cigar-smoking,  and  other  filthy 
habits,  is  the  abiding  torment  of  tens  of  thousands  of  both 
Chinese  and  aborigines.  There  are  numberless  superstitions 
cherished  by  the  people  regarding  the  growth,  defects,  and 
treatment  of  the  teeth ;  and  the  ways  by  which  they  attempt 


MEDICAL   WORK  AND   THE  HOSPITAL  3J5 

to  drive  out  the  black-headed  worm,  believed  to  be  gnawing 
inside  and  causing  toothache,  are,  some  of  them,  amusing, 
some  disgusting,  and  some,  indeed,  ingenious. 

The  methods  by  which  the  natives  extract  teeth  are  both 
crude  and  cruel.  Sometimes  the  offending  tooth  is  pulled 
with  a  strong  string,  or  pried  out  with  the  blade  of  a  pair  of 
scissors.  The  traveling  doctor  uses  a  pair  of  pincers  or  small 
tongs.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  people  all  dread 
the  operation,  as  jaw-breaking,  excessive  hemorrhage,  fainting, 
and  even  death  frequently  result  from  the  barbarous  treatment. 

My  first  attempt  to  extract  a  tooth  was  in  1873.  On  leav- 
ing Tek-chham  with  the  students  one  day  we  were  followed 
by  a  dozen  soldiers  who  had  been  sent  to  watch  our  move- 
ments. One  of  their  number  was  suffering  intense  pain  from 
a  decayed  tooth ;  he  said,  "  There  is  a  worm  in  it."  I  had  no 
forceps,  but  after  examining  it  I  got  a  piece  of  hard  wood, 
shaped  it  as  desired,  and  with  it  removed  the  tooth.  It  was 
primitive  dentistry,  to  be  sure,  but  the  tooth  was  out,  and  the 
poor  soldier  wept  for  joy  and  was  most  profuse  in  his  grati- 
tude. Years  after,  when  a  number  of  soldiers  were  reviling 
the  "  barbarian  missionary,"  a  tall  officer  stepped  forward  and 
reproved  them,  saying  that  I  was  the  teacher  who  relieved  him 
of  the  aching  tooth. 

My  first  dental  instruments  were  very  rude,  having  been 
hammered  out  by  a  native  blacksmith  according  to  my  direc- 
tions. Now  I  have  the  very  best  instruments  made  in 
New  York.  The  lance  is  rarely  used,  and  the  key,  hook, 
punch,  or  screw,  never.  A  chair  is  not  needed,  and  with 
a  hundred  other  sufferers  waiting  their  turn  any  elaborate 
preparations  would  be  a  waste  of  time.  The  Chinese  have 
considerable  nerve,  and  endure  the  pain  of  an  operation  won- 
derfully well. 

Our  usual  custom  in  touring  through  the  country  is  to  take 
our  stand  in  an  open  space,  often  on  the  stone  steps  of  a  tern- 


316  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

pie,  and,  after  singing  a  hymn  or  two,  proceed  to  extract  teeth, 
and  then  preach  the  message  of  the  gospel.  The  sufferer 
usually  stands  while  the  operation  is  being  performed,  and  the 
tooth,  when  removed,  is  laid  on  his  hand.  To  keep  the  tooth 
would  be  to  awaken  suspicions  regarding  us  in  the  Chinese 
mind.  Several  of  the  students  are  experts  with  the  forceps,  and 
we  have  frequently  extracted  a  hundred  teeth  in  less  than  an 
hour.  I  have  myself,  since  1873,  extracted  over  twenty-one 
thousand,  and  the  students  and  preachers  have  extracted  nearly 
half  that  number.  The  people  now  know  that  they  do  not 
need  to  suffer  the  excruciating  pain  of  toothache,  and  that 
they  need  not  run  any  risk  in  obtaining  relief.  The  priests  and 
other  enemies  of  the  mission  may  persuade  people  that  fever 
and  other  diseases  have  been  cured,  not  by  our  medicines,  but 
by  the  intervention  of  the  gods ;  but  the  relief  from  toothache 
is  too  unmistakable,  and  because  of  this  tooth-extracting  has 
been  more  than  anything  else  effective  in  breaking  down  pre- 
judice and  opposition. 

Patients  are  treated  in  all  the  cities  and  villages  where  we 
may  happen  to  be.  Medicines  are  given,  and  treatment  pre- 
scribed for  them  in  their  homes.  The  headquarters  of  this 
department,  however,  like  those  of  all  others,  are  at  Tamsui. 
There  is  the  hospital  building,  with  its  wards  and  necessary 
equipment.  At  first  I  had  only  one  room,  but  in  1880  a  com- 
modious building  for  hospital  purposes  was  erected  at  a  cost 
of  three  thousand  dollars,  the  gift  of  Mrs.  MacKay,  of  De- 
troit, in  memory  of  her  husband,  Captain  MacKay,  and  is  now 
known  as  the  "MacKay  Hospital."  This  has  been  a  great 
blessing  to  thousands  of  people.  Referring  to  the  report  for 
1894,  during  which  time  I  have  been  on  furlough  in  Canada, 
I  find  that  thirty-one  hundred  and  fifty-six  new  patients  and 
seventy-five  hundred  and  eighty  old  patients  were  treated  in 
the  year. 

Now  it  is  not  claimed  that  all  treated  were  cured,  or  that  all 


MEDICAL   WORK  AND    THE  HOSPITAL  317 

cured  became  Christians.  Large  numbers  were  cured  during 
these  twenty-three  years,  many  more  were  relieved,  and  the 
services  rendered  made  them  much  more  kindly  disposed  to- 
ward the  mission.  Many  became  converts  themselves,  and 
their  example  told  with  their  relatives  and  friends.  The  reflex 
influence  of  all  this  medical  work  cannot  be  estimated.  The 
direct  results  in  the  conversion  of  patients  cannot  be  told.  We 
could  tell  of  many  interesting  cases.  Bun  Hien,  a  man  of 
fifty-six  years,  almost  blind,  formerly  a  ringleader  of  bad  char- 
acters, was  cured  of  his  blindness  and  converted  to  God,  bring- 
ing his  children  and  grandchildren  with  him.  A  young  woman 
who  took  opium  to  commit  suicide  was  treated,  and  recovered  ; 
and  as  a  result  her  father-in-law,  sixty-two  years  of  age,  came 
to  the  chapel  and  believed  the  gospel,  living  consistently  on  to 
the  close  of  his  life.  A  man  named  Chiu  was  badly  burned, 
and  a  native  preacher  dressed  his  wounds  successfully,  so  that 
they  were  healed ;  and  Chiu  came  to  the  chapel,  bringing  his 
seven  children,  and  they  all  became  Christians.  But  space 
would  fail  to  tell  of  Chhi  Hok,  of  Lim  O,  a  gong-beater,  of 
Kho  Ban,  whose  son  was  healed  after  being  gored  by  a  water- 
buffalo,  of  Chhi,  a  fever  patient,  of  Ku,  who  was  bit  by  a  dog, 
and  Ong,  an  opium-smoker,  of  a  Confucianist  teacher  who  was 
a  victim  of  "  furious  insanity  " — space  would  fail  to  tell  of 
these  and  of  hundreds  of  others  who  by  being  healed  of  physi- 
cal infirmities  were  led  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Saviour  who 
heals  the  great  trouble  of  the  soul.  Many  of  them  were  ad- 
versaries of  the  truth,  and  were  brought  to  consult  the  foreigner 
only  as  a  last  resort ;  but  out  of  enemies  they  became  friends. 
Some  of  them  are  now  in  the  presence  of  their  Lord ;  others 
are  constant  in  his  service  in  the  church  on  earth. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV 

FOREIGNERS    AND    THE    MISSION 

Reported  hostility — Sympathetic  relations  in  Formosa — Experiences  with 
foreigners — Foreign  kindness  to  native  preachers — "Barbarian" 
rarely  heard — Address  and  presentation  from  foreign  community 

IT  is  a  common  complaint  on  the  part  of  missionaries  that 
foreigners,  whether  merchants  residing  in  the  country  or 
travelers  passing  through  it,  are  either  indifferent  or  hostile  to 
Christian  missions.  One  reads  of  the  haughty  contempt, 
sometimes  ill  concealed,  of  the  foreign  community  for  mission- 
aries and  their  work.  One  hears  of  a  chasm  deep  and  wide 
between  the  missionaries  and  the  other  foreigners  in  the  cities 
and  port  towns  of  China  and  Japan.  We  are  told  by  mer- 
chants, officials,  and  travelers  that  the  missionaries  are  weak, 
narrow-minded,  entirely  without  influence,  and  that  their  work 
is  a  failure  or  a  fraud.  Missionaries,  on  the  other  hand,  hint 
that  the  foreign  merchants  are  worldly,  the  military  and  naval 
officers  and  men  loose  livers,  the  consuls  unsympathetic  and 
unspiritual,  and  the  average  traveler  a  one-eyed,  prejudiced, 
vagabond  globe-trotter,  whose  presence  in  the  vicinity  of  a 
mission  is  a  distinct  calamity. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  speak  of  things  as  they  exist  in  other 
mission  fields,  although  I  should  be  sorry  to  think  of  what  one 
hears  regarding  the  relations  of  foreigners  to  mission  work  as 
having  any  very  substantial  basis  in  fact.  There  may  be  a 
chasm  such  as  has  been  referred  to,  and,  if  so,  it  has  probably 

318 


FOREIGNERS  AND    THE  MISSION  319 

been  dug  by  both  parties.  But  speaking  of  Formosa,  and 
looking  back  over  the  entire  history  of  our  mission  there,  I  am 
bound  to  say  that  the  most  cordial  relations  have  ever  existed 
between  the  workers  in  the  mission  and  the  resident  or  tran- 
sient foreign  community.  Again  and  again  in  the  preceding 
chapters  reference  has  been  made  to  kindnesses  shown  and 
services  rendered  by  European  and  American  merchants,  and 
by  consuls,  commissioners  of  customs,  and  physicians.  The 
representatives  of  the  great  foreign  firms  of  Tait  &  Co.,  Boyd 
&  Co.,  Douglas,  La  Praik  &  Co.,  as  well  as  others  in  the 
employ  of  the  Chinese,  have  always  taken  a  genuine  interest 
in  our  work.  Consuls  and  commissioners  of  customs  like 
Frater,  Allen,  Hosie,  Ayrton,  Morse,  Hall,  Bourne,  and  Hob- 
son  have  been  my  personal  friends,  and  I  recall  their  names 
with  gratitude.  More  than  one  trip  into  savage  territory  was 
relieved  by  the  company  of  one  or  another  of  those  gentlemen. 

Hobson,  when  commissioner  of  customs,  went  with  me 
once,  and  neither  of  us  will  forget  our  experiences  in  the 
mountains.  Shivering  with  cold,  we  spent  the  greater  part  of 
one  day  in  a  hut  filled  with  smoke  from  the  wet  firewood,  and 
at  night  poor  Hobson  was  kept  awake,  partly,  perhaps,  by  the 
savage  atmosphere  of  the  place,  and  partly  by  the  noise  of  a 
dry  deerskin  in  which  I  had  wrapped  myself,  and  which  at 
every  movement  cracked  like  the  going  off  of  a  pistol.  I 
remember,  too,  one  hot  evening  when  Hobson  and  Dr.  Ringer 
walked  from  Tamsui  to  Pat-li-hun  to  share  with  me  such  a 
dinner  as  I  had  not  seen  before  in  a  twelvemonth. 

Medical  men  have  invariably  manifested  a  desire  to  assist 
our  work,  and  have  rendered  valuable  services  in  many  ways. 
Dr.  Ringer  not  only  waited  upon  me  in  times  of  serious  illness, 
but  during  his  residence  at  the  port  of  Tamsui  rendered  gra- 
tuitous service  to  the  mission,  having  our  hospital  under  his 
charge. 

Scientists  from  various  countries  have  visited  us  at  Tamsui, 


320  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

and  an  hour  or  two  in  my  museum  secured  for  the  mission 
their  sympathy  and  interest.  They  saw  there  what  would  take 
them  years  to  discover  for  themselves,  and  not  infrequently 
have  they  been  made  friends  of  foreign  missions  by  accom- 
panying us  on  a  tour  of  the  chapels. 

One  Sabbath  in  1873,  when  at  Go-ko-khi,  I  was  surprised 
by  the  sudden  appearance  of  a  tall  stranger,  who  saluted  me 
by  name  with  an  accent  that  suggested  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 
He  was  J.  B.  Steere,  an  American  scientist,  now  professor  in 
the  University  of  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  who  was  making  a 
tour  through  the  tropics,  collecting  specimens  for  the  museum 
of  his  college.  He  became  our  guest  at  Tamsui,  and  for  a 
month  we  had  delightful  intercourse  together.  He  took  great 
interest  in  my  students,  and  once  during  my  absence,  when  he 
was  left  in  full  possession  for  several  days,  he  undertook  to 
teach  the  students  two  tunes.  He  did  not  know  the  language, 
but  he  could  use  a  hymn-book  in  the  romanized  colloquial. 
He  put  the  notes  of  the  tunes  on  the  blackboard  and  drilled  the 
students  in  singing  them,  and  on  my  return  I  was  greeted 
with  the  One  Hundredth  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
first  psalms,  sung  to  tunes  that  are  still  favorites,  and  are  called 
the  "  botanist's  tunes  "  to  this  day  by  those  who  were  in  the 
class  then. 

So  I  might  go  on  to  tell  of  ship-captains,  officers,  and 
engineers  who  have  in  different  ways  rendered  aid  to  our  work 
in  Formosa.  High  and  low  have  expressed  their  sympathy, 
and  the  foreign  residents  have  gone  out  of  their  way  to  show 
kindness  to  the  native  preachers  and  converts.  British  Am- 
bassador O'Connor  and  British  Admiral  Salmon  visited  Oxford 
College,  as  did  also  the  commander  of  a  British  man-of-war, 
and,  addressing  the  students,  myself  interpreting,  spoke  in  the 
kindliest  terms  of  greeting  and  good  will.  I  have  found  for- 
eigners of  all  nationalities  ready  to  acknowledge  their  indebt- 
edness to  Christianity,  and  willing  to  help  the  mission  and 


FOREIGNERS   AND    THE  MISSION  321 

missionaries.  The  fact  that  they  were  not  themselves  mission- 
aries gave  peculiar  emphasis  to  their  words,  not  only  in  Europe 
and  America,  but  also  in  heathen  communities.  In  return  the 
students  and  converts  have  been  taught  to  treat  with  respect 
and  honor  all  foreigners,  and  the  contemptuous  epithet  "  bar- 
barian," so  often  cast  at  foreigners  twenty  years  ago,  is  rarely 
heard  in  North  Formosa  to-day. 

That  the  relations  existing  between  the  mission  and  the  for- 
eign community  are  sympathetic  and  cordial  is  testified  to  by 
the  address,  engrossed  on  silk,  and  accompanied  by  a  magnifi- 
cent telescope,  presented  to  me  on  the  eve  of  my  departure 
for  Canada  in  1893.  I  value  this  address,  even  though  it 
does  me  honor  overmuch,  and  I  have  consented  to  its  repro- 
duction here  because  it  expresses  in  unmistakable  terms  the 
interest  of  the  entire  foreign  population  in  the  work  into  which 
I  have  put  my  life. 

"To  Rev.  G.  L.  Mac  Kay,  D.Z>.,  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  from 
Formosa. 

"  Tamsui,  17th  August,  1893. 

"  Dr.  MacKay  :  We  here  assembled  felt  that  we  could  not 
let  you  depart  without  wishing  you  God-speed  and  a  pleasant 
voyage  home,  and  expressing  our  regard  for  you,  and  our 
estimation  of  the  great  work  you  have  so  nobly  undertaken  in 
Formosa,  and  carried  on  so  successfully  during  the  past  twenty 
years. 

"  We  have  not  always  given  expression  to  our  thought,  but 
we  have  highly  appreciated  your  great  success,  and  the  mar- 
velous progress  you  have,  by  God's  help,  been  able  to  make 
in  getting  at  the  hearts  of  the  Chinese  people  around  us ;  a 
success  which,  we  think,  is  without  parallel  in  the  history  of 
Christian  missions  in  China. 

"  You  cannot  but  regard  with  much  thankfulness  and  satis- 
faction the  great  and  noble  work  you  have  been  engaged  upon, 


322  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

and  to  which  you  have  devoted  your  life  these  many  years. 
In  material  blessings  alone,  resulting  from  your  labors,  resides 
sufficient  cause  to  make  any  man  proud  and  happy ;  and  if 
there  were  nothing  else  to  show  than  the  good  feelings  be- 
tween natives  and  foreigners,  due  to  your  teaching,  that  alone 
would  be  sufficient  cause  for  triumph.  Those  of  us  who 
remember  Formosa  as  it  was  at  the  time  of  your  arrival  recog- 
nize a  great  alteration  for  the  better  in  the  demeanor  of  the 
natives  generally ;  and  we  ascribe  the  improvement  in  a  great 
measure  to  you.  Suspicion  has  given  place  to  confidence,  and 
the  most  timid  never  dream  of  fearing  molestation,  let  them 
roam  the  country  where  they  will.  Who  with  time  to  ramble 
can  forget  the  neat  and  wholesome-looking  mission  chapels 
scattered  broadcast  through  the  land  ?  And  who  can  fail  to 
remember  the  bright  and  cheerful  welcome  received  at  such 
spots  as  Sin-tiam,  when,  on  pleasure  bent  amid  the  glorious 
scenery  of  Formosa  the  Beautiful ;  the  kindly  reception  and 
smiling  welcome,  the  glad  readiness  to  anticipate  one's  wants, 
the  keen  desire  to  make  our  stay  at  the  mission  station  com- 
fortable, and  to  give  us  a  bright  memory  to  look  back  on? 
All  this  is  the  outcome  of  your  teaching  and  your  influence. 

"  Besides  the  admiration  and  respect  we  feel  for  your  work, 
and  the  gratitude  for  the  benefit  we  derive  from  the  good  feel- 
ing between  Chinese  and  foreigners,  which  you  have  done  so 
much  to  develop,  we  also  feel  that  we  have  even,  as  a  com- 
munity, a  special  relationship  with  Kai  Bok-su.  You  have 
been  a  standing  symbol  and  example  to  us  of  faith  in  the 
Unseen,  especially  at  those  times  when  one  or  another  has 
passed  from  among  us  and  from  the  visible  world.  You  have 
been  ever  ready  to  sympathize  with  us  and  help  us,  and  to 
remind  us  of  the  great  realities,  sharing  with  us,  as  only  such 
a  man  as  yourself  can,  in  all  our  last  offices  for  those  who  have 
gone  from  us.  Had  we  marriage  or  other  occasions  for  joy 
among  us,  we  feel  that  you  would  then  equally  sympathize 


FOREIGNERS  AND    THE  MISSION 


323 


with  us  and  help  us.  Therefore,  individually  and  as  a  com- 
munity, we  wish  to  express  our  appreciation  and  our  gratitude. 
"  It  only  remains  to  ask  you,  Dr.  MacKay,  to  accept  from 
the  foreign  community  of  North  Formosa,  and  the  captains, 
officers,  and  engineers  of  the  visiting  steamers,  a  feeble  token 
of  our  esteem.  If  our  offering  should  serve  to  bring  nearer 
to  your  vision  the  '  glory  which  the  heavens  nightly  declare,' 
and  give  you  delight  and  relaxation  in  the  bringing,  we  shall 
all  rejoice. 


L.  te  Breton, 
B.  P.  White, 
Charles  Pye, 
Alfred  G.  Robson, 
J.  R.  Wilson, 
R.  Mussen, 
Arnold  C.  Clarke, 
Harrison  W.  Lee, 
G.  Ball, 

F.  W.  E.  Dulberg, 
William  Gauid, 
William  Davis, 
Fred  B.  Marshall, 
F.  M.  Tait, 
R.  H.  Obiy, 
M.  Jenssen, 
B.  C.  Matheson, 
F.  Fenwick, 
E.  A.  Donaldson, 
Paul  Schabert, 
J.  Merlees, 

F.  C.  Angear. 


James  Cromarty, 
Isaac  Roberts, 
J.  D.  Edwards, 
V.  Larsen, 
J.  Remusat, 
H.  B.  Morse, 
W.  S.  Ayrton, 
O.  E.  Bailey, 
G.  M.  Hinrichs, 
G.  Schneider, 
G.  Nepean, 
W.  Cloney, 
A.  F.  Gardiner, 
A.  Butler, 
P.  W.  Petersen, 
A.  Schwarzer, 
J.  S.  Roach, 
William  Roberts, 
F.  F.  Andrew, 

E.  Hansen, 

F.  Ashton, 


CHAPTER    XXXV 

WITH    THE    ENGLISH    PRESBYTERIANS 

North  and  South — Mutual  respect — Founding  of  their  mission — Staff  of 
workers — Visit  of  Mr.  Campbell — Tour  with  Mr.  Ritchie — Stations 
and  statistics — Medical  work — Education — A  noble  history 

ALTHOUGH  the  island  of  Formosa  is  not  more  than  two 
..  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  length,  those  living  in  the 
south  are  separated  from  us  in  the  north  as  far  as  if  the  length 
of  a  continent  lay  between  us.  There  is  no  direct  connection 
by  sea,  and  the  overland  route  is  tedious,  difficult,  and  dan- 
gerous. The  mission  in  South  Formosa,  carried  on  by  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  England,  although  reaching  northward 
to  a  point  not  far  from  the  most  southerly  station  supplied  by 
our  mission  in  North  Formosa,  is  still  so  far  away  that  for  all 
practical  purposes  we  are  in  different  countries.  Once  in 
years  missionaries  from  Tamsui  and  from  Tai-wan-fu  may 
meet,  but  it  is  only  as 

"  Ships  that  pass  in  the  night  and  speak  each  other  in  passing." 

No  two  missions  could  possibly  be  more  friendly ;  and  al- 
though we  have  not  touched  each  other  except  remotely,  and 
although  our  methods  of  work  differ  very  materially,  we  are 
"one  in  hope  and  doctrine,  one  in  charity."  They  have  a 
larger  foreign  staff,  while  we  throw  greater  emphasis  on  a  na- 
tive ministry ;  but  God  has  no  fixed  method  by  which  his  ser- 
vants must  work,  and  each  according  to  his  ability  and  his 

324 


WITH    THE  ENGLISH  PRESBYTERIANS  325 

circumstances  must  serve  our  common  Master.  The  mission- 
aries in  South  Formosa  are  indeed  brethren  beloved.  When  I 
landed  in  their  midst,  a  stranger  and  a  novice,  those  then  in  the 
field  gave  me  the  heartiest  welcome,  initiating  me  into  the 
work,  and  then  accompanying  me  on  an  exploring  expedition 
through  my  own  chosen  field.  The  story  of  their  work  has 
been  told  by  one  of  their  number,  the  Rev.  William  Campbell, 
F.R.G.S.,  in  his  "  Missionary  Success  in  Formosa."  I  have  by 
me  only  the  two  most  recent  reports  submitted  to  the  Synod 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  England,  upon  which  I  depend 
for  extracts  and  statistics. 

The  work  in  South  Formosa  was  begun  in  1865  by  J.  L. 
Maxwell,  M.D.,  a  devoted  Christian  physician.  Writing  of 
his  service  in  1870,  the  convener  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Com- 
mittee under  whom  he  labored  said :  "  It  is  in  some  respects 
almost  romantic  in  its  incidents,  and  very  glorying  to  God  in 
the  large  results  of  the  work  as  compared  with  the  smallness  of 
the  human  agency ;  for  it  is  principally  through  one  mission- 
ary, a  noble  Christian  physician,  who  went  out  for  us  in  1865, 
Dr.  Maxwell,  that  the  work  has  been  carried  on."  The 
founder  of  the  mission  is  indeed  a  noble  Christian,  and  since 
his  retiral  from  the  field  he  has  continued  in  the  service  of 
foreign  missions,  being  editor  of  "  Medical  Missions,"  published 
in  London,  England. 

When  I  arrived  in  187 1,  Revs.  Hugh  Ritchie,  William 
Campbell,  and  Dr.  Dickson  were  on  the  field.  The  present 
staff,  according  to  the  report  for  1894,  includes  Rev.  William 
Campbell  (187 1),  Rev.  T.  Barclay,  M.A.  (1874),  Rev.  Dun- 
can Ferguson,  M.A.  (1889),  Peter  Anderson,  L.R.C.S.  and 
P.Ed.  (1878),  W.  Murray  Cairns,  M.E.,  CM.  (1893),  Mr. 
George  Ede  (1883),  Miss  Annie  Butler  (1885),  Miss  Joan 
Stuart  (1885),  Miss  Barnett  (1888).  The  report  records  "  the 
unexpected  removal  by  death  of  the  Rev.  William  Thow, 
which  has  left  a  deep  wound  in  the  hearts  of  all  the  brethren 


326  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

and  of  the  entire  native  church.  Mr.  Thow  was  a  noble  mis- 
sionary, and  had  got  into  remarkable  touch  with  the  Chinese 
Christians,  from  many  of  whom  the  most  tender,  sympathetic 
communications  have  been  received."  It  wTas  my  privilege  to 
know  Mr.  Thow,  having  met  with  him  on  the  field,  and  he  de- 
served the  words  of  appreciation  that  have  been  spoken  by  his 
fellow-workers  and  his  church.  Mr.  Ritchie  and  Dr.  Gavin 
Russel  have  also  been  called  to  rest  from  their  labors  in 
Formosa. 

The  first  missionary  to  visit  me  at  Tamsui  was  the  Rev. 
William  Campbell,  who  traveled  inland  with  me,  preaching  the 
gospel  in  the  towns  and  villages.  Years  afterward  he  visited 
me  a  second  time,  and  made  a  trip  through  the  Kap-tsu-lan 
plain.  He  was  a  delightful  companion.  One  evening  at 
Kelung  we  agreed  tO' spend  ten  days  without  speaking  English, 
beginning  on  the  following  morning.  We  were  to  set  out  on  a 
tour  in  the  morning,  and  before  daybreak  the  call  to  rise  was 
heard:  "  Liong  tsong  khi  lai."  We  were  soon  making  our 
way  along  winding  paths,  talking  all  the  time,  but  never  using 
an  English  word.  At  last  my  friend  turned  to  me  and  said, 
"  MacKay,  this  jabbering  in  Chinese  is  ridiculous,  and  two 
Scotchmen  should  have  more  sense  ;  let  us  return  to  our  mother 
tongue." 

In  1875  tne  Rev-  Hugh  Ritchie  came  up  to  Tamsui,  and, 
accompanied  by  nine  of  our  preachers,  I  set  out  with  him  on 
a  trip  that  lasted  seventy  days.  We  inspected  all  our  work  in 
the  north,  visiting  all  our  stations,  and  then  journeyed  south- 
ward, over  mountains,  across  sands,  through  forest  jungle  and 
rocky  gorge,  until  we  reached  the  most  northerly  stations  in 
the  South  Formosa  mission.  We  went  from  station  to  station, 
inspecting  their  entire  work.  Then  we  met  with  the  mission- 
aries and  native  workers  in  a  conference  of  preachers  and 
office-bearers  at  Tai-wan-fu,  where  for  several  days  we  took 
sweet  counsel  together,  myself  and  the  preachers  from  the 


WITH    THE  ENGLISH  PRESBYTERIANS  327 

north  being  privileged  to  take  part  in  the  discussions  along 
with  the  southern  brethren.  I  have  visited  South  Formosa 
several  times  since  then,  and  have  lost  none  of  my  affection 
for  the  mission  whose  missionaries  have  labored  so  devotedly 
and  whose  converts  impress  a  stranger  as  being  earnest  and 
sincere. 

At  the  close  of  1894  the  South  Formosa  mission  reported 
twenty  organized  congregations,  eighteen  not  yet  organized, 
with  twelve  hundred  and  forty-six  members  on  the  communion- 
roll.  The  work  was  greatly  interfered  with  by  the  sickness  of 
several  of  the  most  efficient  and  experienced  missionaries. 
Malarial  fever  is  their  foe,  as  it  is  ours  in  the  north.  Their 
stations  are  among  Chinese,  Pe-po-hoan,  and  Sek-hoan.  In 
the  Tai-wan  district  there  is  one  station  among  the  Chinese 
and  four  among  the  Pe-po-hoan.  In  the  Tong-soa  district 
are  eleven  among  Chinese  and  one  among  Hak-ka  Chinese. 
In  the  Ka-gi  district  are  five  among  Chinese  and  four  among 
Pe-po-hoan.  In  the  Chiang-hoa  district  is  one  station  among 
Chinese  and  five  among  Sek-hoan.  On  the  east  coast  are 
three  stations  among  Pe-po-hoan.  There  are  twenty-six  na- 
tive preachers,  none  of  whom  have  yet  been  ordained,  and 
eight  students  studying  with  a  view  to  the  ministry.  Cheering 
items  of  news  are  reported  from  several  churches,  and  the  re- 
port says  that,  "at  a  general  conference  of  preachers  and 
office-bearers  to  be  held  in  February,  it  seemed  all  but  certain 
some  decisions  would  be  reached  by  the  native  brethren  which 
would  lead  to  their  assuming  a  greater  amount  of  responsibil- 
ity in  the  management  of  the  church's  affairs.  The  brethren 
are  of  opinion  that  the  day  is  not  very  distant  when  they  will 
be  able  to  go  forward  to  the  ordination  of  one  or  two  native 
pastors,  which  would  indeed  be  a  red-letter  day  in  the  For- 
mosa mission." 

Of  the  influence  of  medical  work  in  their  mission  the  Rev. 
William  Campbell  writes:  "  Work  in  our  hospital  reaches  two 


328  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

classes,  the  out-patients  and  those,  every  Tuesday  and  Friday, 
who  have  medicines  dispensed  to  them.  Thus  every  year  a 
wide  door  and  effectual  is  opened  for  seeking  to  influence 
thousands  of  persons — coming,  moreover,  not  from  one  town 
or  village,  but  from  a  region  covering  many  hundreds  of 
square  miles."  A  deeply  interesting  work  for  the  blind  was 
initiated  by  Mr.  Campbell,  and  is  contributing  its  quota  to  the 
success  of  the  mission,  being  conducted  with  every  token  of 
blessing. 

The  missionaries — some  of  them,  at  least — are  convinced  of 
the  importance  of  throwing  more  responsibility  on  the  native 
preachers  and  teachers,  and  hence  of  developing  native  talent 
by  thorough  education.  Mr.  Campbell  writes  :  "  It  is  a  source 
of  much  regret  to  us  that  the  work  in  our  college  does  not  de- 
velop as  we  wish  to  see,  or  as  the  necessities  of  our  field  now 
urgently  require.  With  very  little  effort  about  twenty  students 
could  be  accommodated  in  the  present  college  buildings ;  and, 
taking  the  usual  percentage  of  loss  into  account,  this  number 
ought  to  be  always  at  work  if  we  are  to  make  anything  like 
healthful  and  necessary  progress.  During  1892  we  had  the 
names  of  only  eight  regular  students  on  our  roll ;  one  a  native 
of  Chin-chew,  two  Hak-ka  Chinese,  and  five  children  of  Pe- 
po-hoan  parents.  There  is  obviously  much  need  for  full  and 
sympathetic  inquiry  into  the  causes  which  for  years  past  have 
been  preventing  a  larger  number  of  Chinese  youths  from  ac- 
cepting our  offers  to  bring  them  within  reach  of  college  instruc- 
tion. Chiefly  on  account  of  having  no  Christian  teachers,  our 
congregational  schools  have  been  few  indeed,  and  it  is  well 
known  to  friends  at  home  that,  for  want  of  proper  accommoda- 
dation,  Mr.  Ede's  middle  school  had  to  be  given  up  in  the 
autumn  of  1890.  The  few  years'  work  of  this  latter  institution 
convinced  us  all  of  its  exceeding  importance  and  value  at  the 
present  stage  of  our  mission.  It  was  only  necessary  that  it 
should  have  gone  on  a  number  of  years  longer  in  order  to 


WITH    THE  ENGLISH  PRESBYTERIANS  329 

furnish  young  men  for  the  college,  for  managing  local  schools, 
the  hospital,  and  almost  any  other  department  of  Christian 
effort." 

The  mission  in  the  south  was  founded  under  trying  condi- 
tions, but  it  has  done  a  great  work  and  has  a  noble  history. 
There  are  worthy  names  on  its  roll  of  service.  It  has  been  a 
light  in  a  dark  place,  a  witness  for  God  and  truth,  a  bringer 
of  good  tidings  to  thousands.  The  methods  adopted  differ 
from  ours,  but  the  spirit  is  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus,  and 
I  rejoice  with  the  brethren  there  in  every  success  achieved,  and 
hail  with  supreme  delight  any  "  forward  movement "  for  the 
ingathering  of  souls  and  the  upbuilding  of  the  City  of  God  in 
South  Formosa. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI 


RETROSPECT    AND    PROSPECT 


Survey — Foreign  medical  assistants — Rev.  J.  B.  Fraser — Rev.  K.  F.  Junor 
— Rev.  John  Jamieson — Rev.  Wm.  Gauld — Mr.  Gauld  and  the  native 
preachers — Statistics  for  1894 — Mr.  Gauld's  report — Chapels — Native 
preachers — Self-support — The  changed  relations — "  Eben-ezer  " 

STANDING  on  the  prominence  of  the  present,  one  is  dis- 
posed to  look  backward  over  the  past  and  forward  into 
the  future.  Twenty-four  years  ago,  in  the  autumn  of  1871,  I 
first  left  my  native  land,  young  and  inexperienced,  the  first 
foreign  missionary  sent  out  by  my  church.  I  went  out  not 
knowing  whither,  for  my  field  of  labor  had  not  been  chosen. 
But  the  God  who  "  shapes  our  ends  "  led  the  way,  and  early 
in  1872,  lifting  my  eyes  to  the  green-clad  mountains  that  stand 
round  about  Tamsui,  clearer  than  human  voice  ever  spoke  to 
the  outward  ear,  I  heard  the  voice  of  God  whisper  to  my  list- 
ening spirit,  "This  is  the  land."  In  the  autumn  of  1881,  at 
the  close  of  my  first  furlough,  I  set  out  a  second  time,  not 
alone  now,  and  not  unknowing,  for  Formosa,  the  land  of  my 
labors,  the  native  home  of  my  wife,  had  been  written  upon  my 
heart.  And  now  for  the  third  time,  in  the  autumn  of  1895,  at 
the  close  of  my  second  furlough,  I  am  setting  out  again,  this 
time  with  my  wife  and  our  three  children,  and  Koa  Kau,  my 
Chinese  student-companion.  Farewells  have  all  been  said,  and 
trusting  the  guidance  of  Him  who  knows  the  way  and  never 
leads  astray,  we  go  out  in  the  glad  confidence  that  in  Formosa 


RETROSPECT  AND   PROSPECT  33  * 

we  have  work  to  be  done  and  a  witness  to  be  borne  for  Jesus 
our  Saviour  and  King. 

There  are  many  things  about  missionary  experiences  in 
North  Formosa  that  are  still  untold.  Looking  back  over  the 
years,  I  see  one  helper  after  another  entering  into  our  life  and 
taking  part  with  us  in  our  wrork.  Mention  has  already  been 
made  of  Dr.  Ringer,  the  resident  physician  to  the  foreign  com- 
munity, who  from  the  beginning  until  1880  gave  such  valuable 
service  in  connection  with  the  hospital  and  medical  work,  tak- 
ing upon  himself  the  chief  responsibility  of  that  department. 
Dr.  Johansen  followed  him,  and  for  six  years,  until  1886,  dur- 
ing which  there  were  trying  and  troublous  times,  he  laid  the 
mission  under  obligation.  Then  came  Dr.  Rennie,  and  from 
1886  till  1892  he  was  chief  officer  of  the  hospital  and  medical 
work.  Since  then  Dr.  F.  C.  Angear  has  had  charge  and  over- 
sight of  this  important  department,  and,  like  his  predecessors, 
has  given  generously  of  his  time  and  rendered  most  efficient 
service  to  the  mission. 

In  1875  we  were  joined  by  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Fraser,  M.D., 
and  wife.  Dr.  Fraser,  son  of  the  late  Rev.  W.  Fraser,  D.D., 
for  many  years  one  of  the  clerks  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada,  had  two  years'  experience 
in  medical  practice,  and,  after  graduating  in  theology,  was 
ordained  and  designated  by  the  Presbytery  of  Toronto  in 
September,  1874,  and  sent  out  by  the  Foreign  Mission  Com- 
mittee to  have  charge  more  especially  of  the  medical  work. 
After  a  faithful  service  of  nearly  three  years  his  home  was 
broken  up  by  the  death  of  his  wife,  in  October,  1877,  and  he 
was  compelled  to  return  to  Canada  with  his  children.  He  is 
now  minister  in  Leith,  Ontario,  and  is  an  active  and  useful 
member  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Committee. 

The  year  following,  in  the  summer  of  1878,  the  Rev.  Ken- 
neth F.  Junor  arrived  at  Tamsui,  having  been  commissioned 
by  the  Canadian  church,  and  he  continued  in  the  service  until 


33 2  FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 

1882.  For  a  considerable  part  of  the  time,  during  my  first 
furlough  in  1880-81,  he  was  the  only  foreign  missionary  in 
the  field,  and,  with  the  native  preachers,  had  oversight  of  the 
entire  mission,  which  at  that  date  had  twenty  chapels,  each 
with  a  native  preacher,  and  in  all  over  three  hundred  members 
in  full  communion  with  the  church.  Mr.  Junor's  health  broke 
down,  and  in  November,  1882,  he  returned  to  Canada.  He 
is  now  engaged  in  important  city  mission  work  in  New  York. 

In  1883  the  Rev.  John  Jamieson  and  his  wife  arrived  and 
entered  upon  their  work,  which  was  carried  on  against  great 
odds  until  1891,  when  Mr.  Jamieson,  after  repeated  and  pro- 
longed periods  of  physical  weakness,  was  called  away  by  death, 
and  his  wife  returned  to  Canada. 

In  May,  1892,  the  Rev.  William  Gauld,  having  completed 
his  college  training,  was  appointed  to  Formosa  by  the  Foreign 
Mission  Committee,  and  in  September  of  the  same  year  he 
and  Mrs.  Gauld  arrived  in  Tamsui.  They  were  most  heartily 
welcomed  by  the  workers  in  the  field,  and  with  commendable 
ability  and  zeal  began  the  study  of  the  language,  people,  and 
methods  of  work.  During  my  present  visit  to  Canada  Mr. 
Gauld  has  been  the  only  foreign  missionary  in  the  mission, 
and  through  all  the  times  of  disturbance  and  unrest  consequent 
upon  the  recent  war  and  the  long-continued  resistance  of  the 
islanders  to  Japanese  rule,  the  affairs  of  the  mission  have  been 
managed  with  great  discretion  and  success.  The  Foreign 
Mission  Committee  was  enabled  to  report  that  "  Mr.  Gauld 
has  entered  upon  the  work  in  Formosa  with  such  sympathy 
and  judgment  as  encourages  us  to  expect  gratifying  results. 
The  committee  was  somewhat  alarmed  lest  Dr.  MacKay's 
return  home  so  soon  after  Mr.  Gauld's  arrival  would  lay  upon 
him  a  responsibility  he  might  not  be  able  to  bear.  These 
fears  have  been  disappointed." 

A  Hoa,  Sun-a,  and  Thien  Leng  were  associated  with  Mr. 
Gauld  in  conducting  the  mission,  and  their  experience  and 


RETROSPECT  AND   PROSPECT  333 

judgment  were  to  be  depended  upon.  Of  A  Hoa  Mr.  Gauld 
wrote  at  the  close  of  1893:  "Though  constantly  in  consulta- 
tion, there  has  never  been  the  slightest  approach  to  friction 
bet  ween  us,  and  the  longer  and  better  I  know  him  the  more  I 
can  love  him,  trust  in  his  honesty,  and  respect  his  judgment. 
In  cases  of  difficulty  that  have  arisen  he  has  invariably  been 
deputed  to  visit  the  locality  in  which  the  disturbance  took 
place.  On  his  return  his  smiling  face,  no  less  than  his  words, 
invariably  announced  his  success  in  restoring  harmony.  Yet 
this  man  receives  only  $20  (silver)  or  $11.43  (g°ld)  Per  month 
from  the  mission  for  his  services." 

In  the  report  submitted  to  the  General  Assembly  of  1895  the 
statistics  of  the  mission  showed :  2  foreign  ordained  mission- 
aries ;  2  native  ordained  missionaries ;  60  unordained  native 
preachers;  24  native  Bible-women;  1738  native  communi- 
cants (male  1027,  female  711)  in  good  and  regular  standing 
in  the  church ;  2633  baptized  members ;  60  dispensaries  at 
chapels;  10,736  treatments  at  the  hospital;  $2375.74  contrib- 
uted by  natives  for  mission  purposes;  $264.10  contributed  by 
natives  for  the  hospital;  $269  contributed  by  foreign  commu- 
nity for  the  hospital. 

In  his  report  for  the  same  year  Mr.  Gauld  says :  "  Oxford 
College  is  still  closed,  pending  Dr.  MacKay's  return.  It  has 
been  one  of  the  most  useful  institutions  in  connection  with  the 
mission,  and  we  doubt  not  will  continue  to  exercise  its  influ- 
ence for  good  in  days  to  come. 

"During  1894  the  Girls'  School  was  kept  open  for  a  short 
time.  After  the  commencement  of  the  war  it  was  deemed 
unwise  to  keep  the  girls  so  far  away  from  their  parents,  and 
accordingly  they  were  sent  home. 

"  The  longer  our  experience  the  more  do  we  value  the  native 
ministry  as  an  important  factor  of  the  work.  The  majority  of 
our  native  agents  are  doing  excellent  work,  and  the  two  native 
ordained  pastors  are  superior  men.    When  I  last  visited  Pastor 


334  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

Tan  He's  congregation  at  Sin-tiam — a  country  town,  or  rather 
village — worship  was  held  on  Saturday  evening,  when  about 
seventy  were  present.  On  the  Lord's  day  there  were  present 
in  the  morning  about  one  hundred  and  seventy,  in  the  after- 
noon about  one  hundred  and  twenty,  and  in  the  evening  about 
seventy.  Of  course  many  of  the  country-people  returned  to 
their  homes,  not  remaining  for  the  evening  service.  What  a 
delight  to  address  such  attentive  audiences!  At  week-night 
services,  besides  singing  and  prayer,  an  attempt  is  made  to 
teach  the  people  to  read.  In  this  young  church  there  is  cer- 
tainly a  variety  of  gifts.  To  know  Tan  He  is  to  love  him. 
He  is  not  so  good  a  superintendent  as  Pastor  Giam  Chheng 
Hoa,  but  in  his  own  sphere  is  a  most  useful  man,  cheerful, 
orderly,  cleanly,  and  true,  a  faithful  pastor,  a  good  preacher, 
a  sympathizing  friend.  He  has  now  for  many  years  been  ex- 
ercising a  Christian  influence  upon  his  countrymen,  and  still 
continues,  by  God's  grace,  the  same  blessed  work.  Pastor 
Giam  Chheng  Hoa  is  a  remarkable  man.  Well  taught  in  the 
doctrines  of  the  gospel,  he  preaches  them  with  faithfulness  and 
power.  By  nature  he  has  very  high  executive  ability,  which 
has  been  improved  by  twenty  years  of  experience.  He  knows 
his  own  people,  from  the  governor  of  the  island  to  the  ragged 
opium-smoking  beggar,  and  has  influence  with  them  all.  His 
services  in  the  mission  are  invaluable,  and  we  trust  we  shall  be 
permitted  for  many  years  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  his  influence 
and  counsel.  Other  preachers  and  Bible- women  are  doing 
their  work  in  their  own  way,  and  to  good  purpose.  We  long 
for  the  time  when  we  shall  have  a  native  church  supporting  a 
native  ministry  without  foreign  aid,  and  also  helping  the  needy 
in  other  parts  of  this  poor  sin-cursed  world.  It  is  a  cause  for 
thankfulness  that,  while  the  death-rate  here  was  very  high 
during  the  past  year,  not  one  of  our  mission  staff,  foreign  or 
native,  was  called  away  from  the  work  in  which  all  are  so 
much  needed. 


RETROSPECT  AND   PROSPECT 


335 


"  We  long  for  a  rapid  increase  of  true  believers,  and  we  de- 
sire, even  more  earnestly,  that  those  received  into  the  church 
may  be  true  to  Christ,  steadfast  in  the  faith,  showing  clearly 
by  their  lives  that  they  daily  live  with  him." 

In  preceding  chapters  reference  has  been  made  to  many 
points  where  mission  work  is  being  carried  on  and  where 
chapels  have  been  erected.  The  location  of  each  chapel  is 
indicated  on  one  of  the  maps,  which  gives  the  names  of  the 
sixty  points  occupied  by  the  mission.  The  complete  list  is  as 
follows : 


I. 

Tam-sui. 

21. 

Ta-ma-ian. 

41. 

Poeh-oug-sia. 

2. 

Pat-li-hun. 

22. 

Hoan-sia-thau. 

42. 

Aug-chha-na. 

3- 

Go-ko-khi. 

23- 

Ki-lip-pan. 

43- 

Thiau-sang-pi. 

4- 

Chiu-nih. 

24. 

Ka-le-oan. 

44. 

Teng-phoa-po-o. 

5- 

Lun-a-teng. 

25- 

Pho-lo-sin-a-oan. 

45- 

Tang-koe-soa. 

6. 

Toa-tiu-tia. 

26. 

Lau-lau-a. 

46. 

Teng-siang-khoe 

7- 

Bang-kah. 

27. 

Lam-hong-o. 

47- 

He-is-a. 

8. 

Sin-tsng. 

28. 

Sai-tham-toe. 

48. 

Pak-tau. 

9- 

Sia-au. 

29. 

Chin-tsu-li-kan. 

49. 

Pat-chiau-ua. 

10. 

Sa-kak-eng. 

30. 

Pi-thau. 

50- 

Pang-kio. 

1 1. 

Tho-a-hng. 

3i- 

Ta-na-bi. 

5i- 

Toa-kho-ham. 

12. 

Ang-mng-kang. 

32. 

Sau-hut. 

52. 

Pi-teng. 

13- 

Tek-chham. 

33- 

Tang-mng-thun 

53- 

Lam-kham. 

14. 

Tiong-kang. 

34- 

Sin-a-han. 

54- 

Tiong-lek. 

i5- 

Au-lang. 

35- 

Bu-loan. 

55- 

Toa-o-khau. 

16. 

Sin-tiam. 

36. 

Ki-bu-lan. 

56. 

Pak-nmg-khau. 

17- 

Sek-khau. 

37- 

Ki-lip-tan. 

57- 

Gek-bai. 

18. 

Tsui-tng-kha. 

38. 

Toa-tek-ui. 

58. 

Tho-gu. 

19. 

Koe-lang. 

39- 

Thau-sia. 

59- 

Sin-kang. 

20. 

Sin-sia. 

40. 

Sa-kiat-a-koe. 

60. 

Ba-nili. 

At  each  of  these  chapels  a  native  preacher  is  stationed,  and 
in  many  cases  there  is  associated  with  the  preacher  a  native 
trained  Bible-woman.  The  students  of  Oxford  College  give 
valuable  services,  assisting  the  preachers  at  various  stations, 
preaching  the  gospel,  and  teaching  the  people  from  house  to 
house.     Irregular  and  occasional  services  are  held  at  many 


33^ 


FROM  FAR  FORMOSA 


points  where  there  is  no  chapel  or  organized  congregation.  In 
this  way  the  mission  is  gradually  extending,  and  its  growth  is 
substantial  and  healthy. 

Several  of  the  preachers  are  engaged  in  the  superintendence 
of  the  mission  and  in  the  educational  work  at  Tamsui.  The 
following  native  preachers,  trained  and  equipped  for  their 
work,  are  in  charge  of  chapels : 


I. 

Tan  He. 

21. 

Tan  Kui. 

41. 

Tsui  Eng. 

2. 

Tan  Leng. 

22. 

Eng  Jong. 

42. 

Chheng  He. 

3- 

Go  Ek  Ju. 

23- 

Ang  An. 

43- 

Chhun  Bok. 

4- 

Tan  Theng. 

24. 

Thong  Su. 

44. 

Tiu  Thiam. 

5- 

Chhoa  Seng. 

25- 

Jim  Sui. 

45- 

Bio  Sien. 

6. 

Lim  Giet. 

26. 

A  Hai. 

46. 

Eng  Seng. 

7- 

Tsun  Sim. 

27. 

Pat  Po. 

47- 

Chhong  Lim. 

8. 

Siau  Tien. 

28. 

Jit  Sin. 

48. 

Teng  Chiu. 

9- 

Li  Km. 

29. 

Chin  Giok. 

49. 

Beng  Tsu. 

10. 

Lau  Chheng. 

30- 

Ki  Siong. 

5o. 

Tek  Beng. 

ii. 

Tan  Ho. 

3i- 

Pa  Kin. 

5i- 

Tu  lau. 

12. 

Tan  Ban. 

32. 

Hok  Eng. 

52. 

Li  lau. 

Lv 

Keh  Tsu. 

33- 

In  Lien. 

53- 

Tsan  Un. 

14. 

Tan  Eng. 

34- 

Hong  Lien. 

54- 

Tan  Sam. 

15- 

Eng  Goan. 

35- 

Kai  Loah. 

55- 

Li  Sun. 

16. 

Tan  Siah. 

36. 

Sam  Ki. 

56. 

Eng  Chhung. 

17. 

A  Lok. 

37- 

Keng  Tien. 

57. 

Tsui  Seng. 

18. 

lap  Tsun. 

38. 

A  Seng. 

58. 

Kho  Goan. 

19. 

Thien  Sang. 

39- 

Gong  A. 

59- 

Lim  Ban. 

20. 

Lau  Tsai. 

40. 

Tong  San. 

60. 

Bun  Seng. 

The  all-important  question  of  self-support  is  constantly  kept 
before  our  minds,  and  the  native  Christians  in  North  Formosa 
are  taught  to  give  of  their  means  for  the  maintenance  of  ordi- 
nances and  for  the  extension  of  the  church.  A  self-supporting 
mission  is  our  ideal.  But  what  is  meant  by  self-support  ?  What 
I  understand  by  a  self-supporting  mission  is  one  in  which  all 
the  work  is  earned  on  and  all  the  agents  supported  by  those  in 
the  mission  itself.  The  church  in  North  Formosa  will  be  self- 
supporting  when  its  college,  school,  hospital,  chapels,  and  all 


RETROSPECT  AND   PROSPECT  337 

other  departments,  with  all  laborers,  whether  native  or  foreign, 
will  be  supported  by  the  members  and  adherents  of  the  native 
church.  We  are  as  yet  a  long  way  from  that  position,  but  we 
are  on  the  way,  and  are  moving  in  that  direction.  Four  of 
our  congregations  are  now  entirely  self-supporting;  and  last 
year  the  contributions  from  the  natives  themselves  amounted  to 
$2639.84.  There  is  a  great  work  to  be  done,  not  in  Formosa 
alone,  or  China,  but  throughout  the  entire  foreign  mission 
field,  before  help  from  the  churches  in  Europe  and  America 
can  be  dispensed  with.  The  statistics  of  native  contributions 
call  for  patience  on  the  part  of  ministers  and  churches  in  the 
home  field.  It  is  too  much  to  expect  the  heathen,  either  at 
home  or  abroad,  to  pay  for  his  own  conversion.  Converts 
must  be  taught  self-reliance  and  self-denial,  but  it  sometimes 
happens  in  heathen  countries  that  to  accept  Christianity  is  to 
invite  oppression,  boycotting,  and  robbery.  In  many  native 
congregations  there  is  not  one  member  who,  even  according  to 
native  standards,  has  "  a  competent  portion  of  the  good  things 
of  this  life."  But  out  of  their  poverty  I  have  seen  them  give 
willingly  for  the  support  of  gospel  ordinances. 

Another  problem  facing  the  mission  in  North  Formosa  is 
the  coming  of  the  Japanese.  We  have  no  fear.  The  King 
of  kings  is  greater  than  emperor  or  mikado.  He  will  rule  and 
overrule  all  things.  We  do  not  speculate.  We  do  not  prear- 
range. The  Japanese  question  must  be  faced,  as  all  others 
have  been  faced,  with  plans  flexible  enough  to  suit  the  changed 
circumstances,  and  faith  strong  enough  to  hear  the  voice  of 
God  across  the  storm.  There  will  be  difficulties,  dangers,  and 
trials  before  things  are  adjusted,  but  Formosa  is  given  to  Jesus, 
and  the  purposes  of  God  shall  be  fulfilled. 

Why  should  we  fear?  Surely  we  can  say,  "  Hitherto  hath 
the  Lord  helped  us."  I  look  back  to  the  first  days,  and  recall 
the  early  persecutions  and  perils,  of  which  the  reader  will  never 
know.     I  remember  the  proclamations  issued  and  posted  up 


35&  FROM  FAR   FORMOSA 

on  trees  and  temples,  charging  me  with  unimaginable  crimes, 
and  forbidding  the  people  to  hold  converse  with  me.  In  1879 
I  was  burned  in  effigy  at  an  idolatrous  feast.  Again  and 
again  have  I  been  threatened,  insulted,  and  mobbed.  But 
"  the  things  which  happened  unto  me  have  fallen  out  rather 
unto  the  furtherance  of  the  gospel,"  and  now  the  church  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  a  real  factor  and  a  positive  power  in  the  moral 
and  spiritual  life  of  North  Formosa. 

After  what  has  been  told,  will  it  be  said  that  missions  are  a 
failure?  With  more  than  two  thousand  confessed  followers 
of  Jesus  Christ  now  in  the  churches  of  North  Formosa,  who 
were  born,  most  of  them,  in  the  darkness  of  heathenism,  and 
with  the  social  and  moral  life  of  the  people  impregnated  with 
Christian  ideas,  am  I  to  be  told  by  some  unread  and  untrav- 
eled  critic  that  mission  money  is  wasted,  that  missionary  suc- 
cess is  mere  sentiment,  and  that  converts  do  not  stand  ?  I 
profess  to  know  something  about  foreign  mission  work,  having 
studied  it  at  first-hand  on  the  ground,  and  having  examined  it 
at  the  distance  of  half  the  globe's  circumference.  I  profess  to 
know  something  of  the  character  of  the  Chinese,  heathen  and 
Christian,  and  something  of  men  in  other  lands  than  China. 
And  I  am  prepared  to  affirm  that  for  integrity  and  endurance, 
for  unswerving  loyalty  to  Christ,  and  untiring  fidelity  in  his 
service,  there  are  to-day  in  the  mission  churches  of  North 
Formosa  hundreds  who  would  do  credit  to  any  community  or 
to  any  congregation  in  Christendom.  I  have  seen  them  under 
fire,  and  know  what  they  can  face.  I  have  looked  when  the 
fight  was  over,  and  know  that  it  was  good.  I  have  watched 
them  as  they  lay  down  to  die,  and  calmly,  triumphantly,  as 
any  soldier-saint  or  martyr-hero,  they  "burned  upward  each 
to  his  point  of  bliss."  Tell  me  not  that  they  will  fall  away. 
Four  hundred  of  them  have  been  counted  worthy  and  have 
entered  into  His  presence,  the  first-fruits  of  the  harvests  now 
ripening  in  the  white  fields  of  North  Formosa. 


RETROSPECT  AND   PROSPECT  339 

But  the  half  has  not  been  told.  These  chapters  are  but  a 
fragment.  Not  to-day  or  to-morrow  can  the  story  be  written. 
The  real  story  is  not  finished ;  it  has  only  begun.  There  are 
chapters  to  be  added  from  the  yet  unread  pages  of  the  book 
of  God.  Formosa  is  rooted  in  God's  purpose  as  surely  as 
Orion  or  the  Pleiades.  That  purpose  "  will  ripen  fast,  unfold- 
ing every  hour."  To  help  on  its  fulfilment  this  snatch  from 
the  history  of  the  past  is  broken  off  and  sent  out  to  the 
churches  at  home,  while  we  go  out  again  to  far  Formosa, 
stretching  forward  to  the  things  which  are  before.  We  are 
not  afraid.  Our  confidence  is  in  the  eternal  God.  Oh,  may 
Jesus,  our  exalted  Redeemer-King,  keep  us  all,  and  all  his 
church,  here  and  yonder,  true  and  faithful  till  he  come.  May 
we  live  in  the  light  of  certain  victory.  The  kingdom  of  the 
world  shall  yet  become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  his 
Christ.     The  isles  shall  wait  for  his  law. 


INDEX 


Aberdeen  (Scotland),  Free  Church 
College  at,  21. 

Aboriginal  tradition,  94. 

Aborigines,  Chinese  contempt  for, 
102  ;  conquered  at  Formosa,  205  ; 
and  the  dominant  race,  248 ;  sav- 
age, 251. 

Address  to  author  from  foreign  com- 
munity at  Tamsui,  321. 

Agincourt  Island,  184. 

Agricultural  course,  Tamsui  mis- 
sion, the,  209. 

Among  the  Chinese,  10 1. 

Ancestors,  worship  of,  131,  259. 

Angear,  Dr.  F.  C,  331. 

Animal  life  of  Formosa,  76. 

Asiatic  cholera,  43 ;  native  treat- 
ment of,  310. 

Author,  the,  3;  his  parentage,  14; 
home  life  at  Zorra,  Canada,  1 5  ; 
Christian  upbringing,  16;  early 
drawn  to  mission  work,  16 ;  pre- 
paratory studies  at  Toronto,  18; 
graduation,  and  first  missionary 
duties,  19 ;  theological  studies  at 
Edinburgh,  20 ;  great  Scottish 
preachers,  21  ;  called  to  work  in 
foreign  fields,  23  ;  tour  among  the 
Canadian  churches,  24;  ordina- 
tion, 26  ;  departure  for  "  Far  For- 
mosa," 27;  crossing  the  Pacific, 
29;  at  Yokohama,  30;  masters 
eight  tones  of  Formosan  dialect, 
31  ;  takes  passage  for  Tamsui,  32  ; 
arrival  at  scene  of  labors,  ^7, ; 
spying  out  the  land,  34;  experi- 
ence of  Formosan  inns,  35  ;  visits 

34 


English  Presbyterian  Mission  at 
Toa-sia,  36 ;  moves  into  his  home 
at  Tamsui,  38;  first  attack  of 
fever,  44 ;  difficulties  in  acquir- 
ing the  language,  136;  acquires 
facility  in  spoken  dialect  from 
herdboys,  137;  tour  with  A  lloa, 
145  ;  records  of  missionary  tours, 
174;  experiences  during  the 
French  blockade,  189;  suffers 
from  acute  meningitis,  195  ;  mis- 
sionary labors  among  the  Pe-po- 
hoan,  217;  makes  a  trip  down 
the  east  coast,  226 ;  threatened 
by  savages,  240 ;  visits  the  Lam- 
si-hoan,  241 ;  departure  on  a  visit 
to  Canada  (1893),  170,  321;  ad- 
dress and  presentation  of  foreign 
community  to,  321  ;  retrospect 
and  prospect  of  author's  work, 
330;  persecutions  and  perils 
things  of  the  past,  337. 

Baber,  E.  C,  British  consul  at  Tam- 
sui, tour  with,  262. 

"  Bamboo,"  the,  punishment  of,  107. 

Banditti,  subduing,  160. 

Bang-kali,  45;  population  of,  113; 
how  taken,  164;  hatred  to  for- 
eigners at,  164;  hostilities  to  mis- 
sionaries at,  165  ;  great  change  of 
demeanor  toward,  170;  author 
honored  at,  171. 

Baptism  of  converts,  148. 

"Barbarian"  as  an  epithet  ad- 
dressed to  Europeans,  136,  146, 
238,  301,  321. 


342 


INDEX 


Baths,  public,  among  the  Lam-si- 
hoan,  246. 

Bax,  Captain,  trip  into  savage  terri- 
tory with,  252. 

Beginnings  of  mission  work,  135. 

Betel-nut  eating,  filthy  habit  of,  246. 

Bible-women,  native,  141,  301,  335. 

Birds,   veneration  for  their  chirps, 

259- 
Birds  of  Formosa,  79. 
Blind,   the,    mission    work    among, 

328. 
Bombardment  of  Tamsui,  perilous 

position  during,  194. 
Botany  of  Formosa,  55. 
Brahmanism  and  Buddhism,  studies 

in,  at  Edinburgh,  20. 
"  Bread  cast  upon  the  waters,"  158. 
Bryce,  Rev.  Dr.  George,  of  Winni- 
peg, 26. 
Buddhistic  idolatry,   208;  cure  for 

malaria,  312. 
Burning  the  idols,  231. 
Burns,  William  C,  16. 
"  Burns's  Church"  at  Sin-sia,  223, 

227. 

Calvinism,  stern  old,  15. 
Campbell,   Rev.  William,  of  South 

Formosa,  325-328. 
Canada,  financial  aid  given  by,  for 

mission  work    in   Formosa,   292, 

303- 
Canada  Presbyterian  Church,  3,  6, 

23,  28,  304. 
Candlish,  Dr.  Robert,  21. 
Catarrh,  native  specific  for,  311. 
Cheng-kui-sia,   open-air  service  at, 

237- 

Chief's  village,  visit  to,  263. 

Chinese,  the,  physical  features  of, 
97;  among  the  people,  101  ; 
government  of,  104;  criminal 
justice  among,  109;  corruption 
and  inhumanity  of,  110-112;  in- 
dustrial and  social  life  of,  113; 
farming,  115;  education,  116; 
theaters  and  amusements,  118; 
marriage  customs,  120;  religious 
life  of,  125;  idolatry  among,  128; 
degrading  feasts  of,  131 ;  worship 


of  ancestors,  134;  feeble  sense  of 
the  sublime,  176;  baneful  influ- 
ence of  Chinese  traders,  258; 
hated  by  the  aborigines  as  intru- 
ders, 268 ;  attacked  by  native 
tribes,  270;  the  prey  of  the  head- 
hunters,  272 ;  social  life  of,  at 
Tamsui,   298;    doctor's    charges, 

399. 

Christmas  with  the  savages,  a,  264. 

Churches,  establishing  of,  153;  de- 
stroyed during  hostilities,  191. 

Coal-boat,  adrift  on  a,  187. 

Coal-mines  at  Poeh-tau,  50. 

Coming  of  the  French,  the,  189. 

Communion  services,  148,  161,  227. 

Confucianism,  125,  177,  208. 

Confucianist,  an  old,  177. 

Converts,  baptism  of,  148;  eager- 
ness of,  162. 

Cordial  relations  between  the  laity 
and  the  mission,  321. 

Craig  Island,  184. 

Curriculum  of  study  at  Oxford  Col- 
lege, Tamsui,  293;  at  Girls' 
School,  306. 

Dawson,  Sir  J.  William,  of  Mon- 
treal, 24. 

Dead,  mode  of  burying,  among  the 
savages,  262. 

Dentistry  and  the  medical  missions, 

3H- 

Departed   spirits,  savage  notion  of 

place  of,  258. 
Dialects,  multiplicity  of,  265. 
Divining-blocks,  praying  with,  128. 
Doctors,  native,  and  their  diagnosis 

of  diseases,  309. 
Dodd,    Mr.  John,    of  Tamsui,    34, 

195- 
Donkey  experiences,  175. 
Dress  of  savages,  245,  256. 
Duff,  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander,  20. 

Earthquakes,  prevalent,  53 ;  at  Sin- 
kang,  239.  _ 

East  coast,  trip  down  the,  226. 

Edinburgh,  post-graduate  (theologi- 
cal) course  at,  20  ;  great  preachers 
of,  21  ;  mission  work  at,  22. 


INDEX 


343 


Educated  ministry,  need  of,  287. 

English  Presbyterian  Mission  at 
Tai-wan-fu,  32,  324;  among  the 
Chinese,  Pe-po-hoan,  and  Sek- 
hoan,  327. 

Establishing  churches,  153. 

Ethnology  of  Formosa,  92. 

Farmer's  lot,  213,  243. 

Farming  in  Formosa,  209. 

Feasts,  savage,  religious  significance 
of,  258. 

Fibrous  plants,  64. 

Fishes  of  Formosa,  8^. 

Flowers  of  Formosa,  73. 

"  Foreign  devil  "  as  an  epithet,  136, 
146,  150. 

Foreign  Mission  Committee  of  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  Canada,  30. 

Foreigners  and  the  mission,  225, 
3i8. 

Forest  land,  mode  of  clearing,  264. 

Formosa,  its  geography  and  history, 
41  ;  the  climate  and  its  enervating 
influences,  42-44;  destructive 
Chinese  typhoons,  45  ;  the  Dutch 
and  the  Japanese  in,  46  ;  aborigi- 
nal (Malayan)  name  of  island,  47; 
geology  of,  48  ;  mineral  resources 
of,  50-52 ;  earthquakes  in,  53 ; 
atmospheric,  aqueous,  and  vol- 
canic agencies  at  work  in,  54; 
plant  life  of,  55-60;  fruits  and 
fruit-trees  of,  60-63 ;  grasses  of, 
66;  vegetables,  68-71;  tobacco, 
tea,  and  other  plants,  71-73 ; 
flowers  of,  73-75  ;  animal  life,  76- 
78;  birds,  79,  80;  reptiles,  80- 
82  ;  fishes,  83  ;  insects,  84-89  ; 
mollusca,  89-91 ;  races  of,  92-98  ; 
the  Chinese  in,  101-103;  form  of 
government,  104;  criminal  jus- 
tice, 109;  outrages  upon  native 
Christians,  110-112;  industrial 
and  social  life,  113;  farming  in, 
115;  education  in,  116,  117;  the 
theater,  sports,  and  amusements, 
II 8,  119;  betrothal  and  marriage, 
120-124;  Chinese  religious  life, 
125  ;  idolatry,  128  ;  ancestral  wor- 
ship,   133;    heathenism    in,    164; 


modes  of  travel,  172  ;  sedan-chairs 
and  the  rickshaw,  174;  touring  in 
the  north,  175;  the  gospel  mes- 
sage and  its  results,  179-181  ; 
the  waiting  isles,  182  ;  the  coming 
of  the  French  to,  189 ;  attacks  on 
mission  churches  and  outrages 
upon  native  converts,  191-194; 
looting  of  mission  buildings,  and 
indemnity  therefor,  200;  rebuild- 
ing of  the  chapels,  202  ;  essentially 
an  agricultural  country,  209  ;  mis- 
sions (English  Presbyterian)  in 
South  Formosa,  324;  need  of 
self-supporting  missions  in,  336. 

Forms  of  punishment,  107. 

French,  coming  of  the,  189;  leaving 
of,  199. 

French  invasion  in  1884,  158. 

Fraser,  Rev.  J.  B.,  M.D.,  331. 

Frater,  Alexander,  British  consul  at 
Tamsui,  38,  197. 

Fruits  and  fruit-trees,  60. 

Gauld,  Rev.  William,  332. 

Geh-bai,  flourishing  Christian  con- 
gregation at,  157. 

Geography  of  Formosa,  41. 

Geology  of  Formosa,  48. 

"  Gibraltar  of  heathenism,"  Bang- 
kah,  164. 

Girls'  School  at  Tamsui,  224,  282, 

292,  313,  333- 

"  Glengarry  Chapel,"  Tang-mng- 
thau,  236. 

Gods,  Chinese,  126. 

Go  Ek  Ju,  the  painter,  conversion 
of,  140. 

Go-ko-khi,  erection  of  first  chapel 
at,  121,  148;  work  prospering  in, 
150. 

Gold  on  the  Kelung  River,  52. 

Government  and  justice,  104. 

Gunn,  Mr.  William,  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, 28. 

Guthrie,  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas,  21. 

Hak-kas,  among  the,  102,  157. 
Harvesting  operations,  212. 
Hatred  of  foreigners  at   Bang-kah, 
164. 


344 


INDEX 


Head-hunters,  with  the,  267 ;  mur- 
derous equipment  of,  270;  savage 
propensities  of,  271  ;  hideous  rev- 
els of,  273;  reprisals  of  Chinese, 
275 ;  menace  of,  to  Europeans, 
277. 

Headquarters  at  Tamsui,  135. 

Heathenism  of  Formosa,  125. 

Hill  Dyaks  of  Borneo,  Formosan 
kindred,  267. 

Hindustani,  author  learns  it  at  Edin- 
burgh, 20. 

History  of  Formosa,  46. 

Hoa,  Giam  Chheng  (A),  139,  142, 

219,  332. 
Hodge,  Dr.  Charles,  18,  19. 
Hok-los,  the,  101. 
Hong  Kong,  28,  195. 
How  Bang-kah  was  taken,  164. 

Idolatry,  Chinese,  stock  in  trade, 
289. 

Idol-making  industry,  128. 

Idol-temple  offered  for  chapel  ser- 
vices, 231  ;  idol-burning,  231. 

Idol- worship,  natives  weary  of,  231. 

Importance  of  medical  missions, 
308. 

Industrial  and  social  life,  113. 

Inglis,  Rev.  Walter,  25. 

Insect  life  in  Formosa,  84. 

Intertribal  wars,  258. 

Irrigating  rice-fields,  210. 

Jabbering  in  Chinese,  Scotch,  326. 
Jamieson,  Rev.  John,  332. 
Japanese,  coming  of,  337. 
Junor,  Rev.  Kenneth  F.,  331. 

Ka-le-oan,  cook-preacher  at,  230. 
Kap-tsu-lan  plain,  215;  many  chap- 
els on,  220,  234,  239. 
Kau-kau-a,  221. 
Kelung,    45,    47;    church    at,    157, 

237. 
Ki-lai  plain,  the,  241. 
King,    Rev.    Principal    J.    M.,    of 

Winnipeg,  26. 
Knox  College,  Toronto,  18,  160. 
Ko  Chin,  the  convert,  158,  221. 
Laing,  Rev.  Dr.,  of  Dundas,  27. 


Lam-a-lin,  "  open  door  "  at,  227. 

Lam-hong-o,  chapel  at,  222. 

Lam-kham,  night  sojourn  at,  179. 

Lam-si-hoan,  life  among,  226,  241  ; 
heathen  darkness  among,  247  ; 
future  of,  248;  deadly  result  of 
civilization  among,  248. 

Language  and  dialect,  97,  98,  102. 

Lau-lau-a  chapel,  228 ;  native  mar- 
riage at,  228. 

Licentiousness,  corroding,  248. 

Life  among  the  Lam-si-hoan,  226, 
241 ;  future  of,  248. 

Lights  and  shadows  of  missionary 
life,  237. 

Liquors,  trade  in  poisonous,  248. 

Lord's  work  prospering,  the,  150. 

McCosh,  Dr.  James,  18. 

Machar  Memorial  Church,  158. 

MacKay,  George,  14. 

MacKay,  Rev.  G.  L.,  D.D.  (See 
under  Author.) 

MacKay,  Rev.  R.  P.,  6. 

MacKay,  Mrs.  (of  Detroit),  church- 
building  donation  from,  223,  316. 

"  MacKay  Church  "  at  Lam-hong-o, 
222. 

MacKay  Hospital  at  Tamsui,  283, 
316. 

McKenzie,  Rev.  Donald,  15. 

MacLaren,  Rev.  Professor  William, 
19,  22,  25,  28. 

MacVicar,  Rev.  Principal,  of  Mon- 
treal, 24. 

McTavish,  Rev.  W.  S.,  4. 

Malaria,  43  ;  native  remedy  for,  276, 
312;  need  of  cure  for,  314;  a  foe 
to  missions,  327. 

Malays,  the,  207,  224,  242,  251. 

Maplewood  (Ontario),  school-teach- 
ing days  at,  16. 

Marriage  among  savages,  257. 

Martyrs  for  the  faith,  192. 

Maxwell,  Dr.  J.  L.,  324. 

Meaningless  Chinese  etiquette,  301. 

Medical  work  and  the  hospital,  308  ; 
influence  of,  on  mission,  317. 

Mission,  English  Presbyterian, 
work  of,  325. 

Mission  work,  beginnings  of,  in  For- 


INDEX 


345 


mosa,  135  ;  among  Pe-po-hoans, 
215;  location  of  missions  in 
North  Formosa,  335. 

Missionary,  to  be  one  the  passion 
of  the  author's  life,  16. 

Missionary  experiences,  150. 

Mollusca,  Formosan,  89. 

Money,  thirst  for,  among  the  Chi- 
nese, 164. 

Moore,  Rev.  Dr.,  of  Ottawa,  25. 

Morals  and  manners  among  the 
Lam-si-hoan,  247. 

Mountain  forests,  savage  life  in, 
251. 

Mountain  savages,  251. 

Museum  at  Tamsui,  288. 

Musical  instruments  of  the  savages, 
257- 

Native  Bible-women,  302. 

Native  ministry,  need  of,  44,  285 ; 

cost  of  maintenance  of,  286. 
Native  preacher,  the  first,  and  his 

church,  142. 
Native  workers  for  native  women, 

297. 
Nature-worship  among  the  savages, 

258. 
Newmarket    (Ontario),    missionary 

labors  at,  19. 
Night  in  an  ox-stable,  a,  221. 
"  No  room    here    for   barbarians," 

221. 
Non-failure  of  missions,  338. 

Official  corruption,  105. 
Opium-smoking     habit     overcome, 

179. 
Oppression  of  Christians,  no. 
Ordinances  and  sacraments,  235. 
Oxford  College,  Tamsui,  194,  224, 

230,  282,  291,  304,  305,  320,  SS3, 

335- 

Pak-tau,  church  at,  223 ;  sulphur- 
springs  at,  223 ;  prosperous  mis- 
sion at,  224. 

Patience  needful  in  the  work  of  con- 
version, 236. 

Pat-li-hun,  chapel  at,  161. 

Pe-po-hoan,  village  of,  36 ;  mission 


work  among  the,  215;  encourag- 
ing nature  of,  215,  219;  English 
Presbyterian    work    among    the, 

327- 

Pe-po-hoans,  the,  37,  205 ;  con- 
quered aborigines,  205 ;  their 
home  in  the  Kap-tsu-lan  plain 
(North  Formosa),  205 ;  social 
characteristics,  206  ;  their  cruelty, 
207  ;  nature-worshipers,  207  ;  Chi- 
nese idolatry  forced  upon  them  by 
their  conquerors,  208;  murderous 
propensities  of,  216,  276. 

"  Perils  of  waters,"  in,  173. 

Persecutions  suffered  by  native  con- 
verts, 192. 

Phoa-po-o,  gospel  preached  at,  236. 

Phosphorescent  glory  of  Formosan 
waters,  229. 

Pinnacle  Island,  184. 

Plant  life  in  Formosa,  55. 

Po-sia  plain,  37. 

Pottery,  manufacture  of,  by  the 
Lam-si-hoan,  244. 

"Power  of  God  unto  salvation" 
manifested,  219. 

Preachers,  native,  336. 

Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada, 
Tamsui  mission  of,  10 1,  282. 

Presbyterian  (English)  missions  in 
South  Formosa,  324. 

Presbyterianism  in  Canada,  consoli- 
dation of,  24. 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary, 
author  a  graduate  of,  19. 

Railway  operations  in  Formosa,  174. 

Rattan  industry,  270. 

Refused  accommodation,  238. 

Religious  life  among  Chinese  in 
Formosa,  125. 

Reptiles  of  Formosa,  81. 

Retrospect  and  prospect,  330. 

Rice,  the  staple  food,  246. 

Rice-farming,  209. 

Rickshaw,  locomotion  by,  174. 

Ringer,  Dr.,  of  Tamsui,  319,  331. 

Ritchie,  Rev.  Hugh,  of  South  For- 
mosa, 326. 

Ross,  Rev.  John,  of  Brucefield, 
Canada,  292. 


346 


INDEX 


156. 


Sa-kak-eng,  159. 

Savage  life  and  customs,  251. 

Scott,  Mr.,  British  consul  at  Tam- 
sui,  168. 

Sedan-chair,  the,  as  "  a  mode  of 
motion,"  174. 

Sek-hoan  mission,  a,  238. 

Self-supporting  missions  in  North 
Formosa,  337. 

Sent  ones  of  the  King,  the,  17. 

"  Seventh  Moon  Feast,"  barbari- 
ties of,  abolished,  131. 

Sin-kang,  opposition  at,  238 ;  earth- 
quake at,  239. 

Sin-sia,  church  at,  223. 

Sin-tiam,  154;   church  at 

Social  life,  Chinese,  298. 

South  Formosan  mission,  324;  no- 
ble history  of,  329. 

Steep  Island  (Ku-soa),  visit  to,  182. 

Steere,  Professor  J.  B.,  of  Ann 
Arbor,  320. 

Sulphur-springs  of  Pak-tau,  223. 

Sutherlandshire  (Scotland),  au- 
thor's visit  to  the  "  land  of  his 
forefathers,"  22. 

Sylvia,  Mount,  ascent  of,  260 ; 
snow-capped  heights  of,  261,  313. 

Tai-wan-fu,  capital  of  Formosa,  32, 

47- 
Ta-kow    (Formosa),    author's    first 

sermon  at,  31. 
Tamsui,  blockade   of,    195 ;    sketch 

of,  281 ;  mission  buildings  at,  282  ; 

population  of,  283  ;  a  treaty  port, 

283  ;   MacKay  Hospital  at,  283. 
Tan  He,  Rev.,  154;  missionary  trip 

with,  180,  226;  builds  church  at 

Sin-sia,  223  ;  at  Sin-tiam,  334. 
Tattooing,  245,  257. 
Tauism,  125,  208,  224. 
Tauist  priest,  incantations  of,  129, 

289,  312. 
Tea-culture,  114. 
Teeth-extracting, 
Tek-chham,  113, 
Thah-so,  Widow 

vert,  151 ;  death  of,  152. 
Tin-a  from  birth  to  marriage,  298 
Toa-kho-ham,  159,  177. 


168,  227,  315. 
156. 
first  female  con- 


Toa-tiu-tia,  population  of,  113; 
church  at,  161,  237. 

Tobacco-growing,  246. 

Tonquin,  dispute  with  France,  189. 

Toronto  (Canada),  mission  labors 
within  Presbytery  of,  19;  or- 
dained at,  26. 

Toronto  to  Tamsui,  26. 

Torturing  of  converts,  192. 

Touring  in  the  north,  172. 

Trader,  Chinese,  wily  character  of, 
266. 

Training  a  native  ministry,  285. 

Travel,  modes  of,  172. 

Trees,  plants,  and  flowers,  55. 

Tribal  life,  255. 

Trip  down  the  east  coast,  a,  226. 

Tsui-tng  kha,   church  at,   162,  163, 

237- 
Typhoons,  destructive  character  of, 

245. 

Village  life  among  the  savages,  244, 

255- 

Waiting  isles,  the,  182. 

Warburg,  Dr.  (of  Hamburg),  bota- 
nist, visit  of,  225. 

With  the  English  Presbyterians  in 
South  Formosa,  324. 

Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety of  Canada  gives  aid  to  Girls' 
School  at  Tamsui,  304. 

Woman's  ministry,  297. 

Woman's  position  higher  among  Chi- 
nese than  among  pagan  races,  1 19. 

Women,  savage,  fondness  for  orna- 
ments, 256 ;  hard  lot  of,  265. 

Woodstock  (Ontario)  Grammar- 
school,  16. 

Woodstock  "  Sentinel  Review," 
291. 

Work  of  the  missions,  prosperity  of, 
202. 

Worship  of  ancestors,  131,  259;  a 
stubborn  obstacle  to  Christianity, 
134. 

Yokohama,  29,  30. 

Zorra  (Canada),  early  life  in,  14; 
bids  farewell  to,  27. 


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+**See  also  Pen  and  Pencil  Series,  By-Paths  of  Bible  Knoweeagt* 
and  Missions. 


Missions  and  Missionaries. 


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Heavenly  Pearls  Set  in  a  Life.  A  Record  of  Experiences  and 
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Osborn.    Illustrated.     i2mo,  cloth 1.50 

The  Holy  Spirit  In  Missions.  By  Rev.  A.  J.  Gordon,  D.D. 
Graves  Lectures,  1892.      121110,  cloth,  gilt  top 1.23 

The  Life  of  John  Kenneth  Mackenzie,  Medical  Missionary  to 
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***  Stnd /or  Special  List. 


FrSo8m5fa™mosa.  The  .sland,  Us  people 

Princeton  Theological  Semmary_Spf|e1[1,L;|l?1r|a,||'1| 


1012  00023  5822 


DATE  DUE 


HIGHSMITH  #45230 


